Digital initiative helps Mumbai Police find 44k lost or stolen phones since 2023

MUMBAI: When Dhondiba Ghodke's mobile phone was stolen from his Vile Parle-based shoe shop in Nov 2025, he never expected to see the device ever again. Beyond the hardware, the loss was personal; the device contained bank documents and photos. Ghodke was in for a surprise on Saturday when the Vile Parle police invited him to a special event, where his phone was returned along with those of others like him.

Since 2023, the Mumbai Police have recovered 44,000 lost or stolen cellphones through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) database, a Union ministry of communications initiative aimed at combating mobile theft or misuse. About 70% of these recoveries occurred within the last eight months alone, Cyber Police said. Once a victim reports a device as stolen or missing at a police station, its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number is entered into the CEIR database by officers.

Within 24 hours, the device is blocked, rendering it useless on any telecom network nationally. The moment a new SIM card is inserted by anyone into the blocked handset, the system triggers an automatic alert. The police can then track its location and initiate recovery. The tracking and recovery operations frequently cross state lines. In Jan, 13 Mumbai police teams were dispatched to 19 districts of UP, retrieving 1,650 handsets valued at Rs 2 crore.

The deputy commissioner of police (cyber) is the nodal officer and coordinates the putting together of teams from local police stations for retrieval. For some, the recovery is bittersweet. Hemant Mayekar, another Vile Parle resident, received his phone from the police on Saturday, but the memory card was never found. "My mother was hospitalised in December 2025, and I was running around for her medicines when the phone slipped from my pocket," Mayekar said. "I faced immense trouble because I couldn't access her medical documents. Now, my mother is no more, and I've lost all her photos as well," he said.

On Saturday, 939 phones, retrieved using CEIR, were returned to their owners, including Ghodke and Mayekar, at separate events in the western suburbs and central Mumbai. Cybersecurity consultant Ritesh Bhatia advocated for the establishment of a central coordinating agency to handle inter-state retrievals. Currently, police teams travel hundreds of kms to bring devices home. "A central agency could coordinate with police in other states to retrieve and ship devices back," Bhatia noted. "This would save significant time and resources," he said.