Cop 'indifference' irks mobile theft victims

NASHIK: When a senior citizen approached a sub-inspector at the Ambad police station on Friday to file a complaint about his cellphone getting stolen from the window sill of his home, the official, instead of registering an FIR, cautioned the old man to not keep valuables carelessly.

The aggrieved citizen, on the condition of anonymity, said "When I persisted, the official agreed to file a missing cellphone complaint."

Even as mobile phone thefts are rampant in the city, most of them go unreported as the city police refuse to register FIRs.

The same police station witnessed a similar case a fee days ago. The victim complained that his phone had been stolen from his shirt pocket near Divya Adlabs in Cidco. "The incident was even captured in the CCTV camera installed in one of the establishments. But the police refused to file a complaint," the complainant said.

In another similar incident reported in Upnagar, the victim said that his written complaint was not accepted for three consecutive days. "Only after the police found the mobile phone, they agreed to file the FIR and register the complaint as mobile phone recovered. This was done to fulfil the legal procedures involved in handing over the device," he said, adding that he was lucky to have gotten his cellphone back.

In February too, Ashwini Patil, a college-going student, lost her smartphone worth Rs18,000 from the Central Bus Stand. The incident took place while she was boarding the bus and she realised that she had been robbed only after she sat down on her seat. But when she approached the Sarkarwada police, the latter flatly refused to file a case. They, instead, told her to file a missing case.

Assistant commissioner of police (crime) Sachin Gore, in response, said that all complaints should be registered and must be taken seriously. "In case an official refuses to file their complaints, the complainants should approach the senior officers," Gore said.

Mobile thieves usually target busy market areas, crowded places, vegetable markets, bus stands, cinema theatres and deserted mopeds and residences.

As per the police records, mobile thefts have risen from 140 in 2014 to 186 in 2015. This year, around 95 mobile thefts have been registered so far. But those that go unregistered outnumber the ones in the police registers.