Many recipients said they had given up hope of ever getting their devices back, while some revealed that they were still paying monthly installments for the phones they had lost. For 717 people in Ludhiana, this Diwali brought an unexpected gift as the police returned their stolen, snatched and lost mobile phones on Saturday.
The recipients were invited to the Police Lines to let them collect their recovered gadgets. He urged citizens to immediately report the loss or theft of mobile phones at the nearest Saanjh Kendra. Once a complaint is registered, the device can be blocked through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal, preventing its misuse and helping the police track it if someone attempts to use it. Deputy commissioner of police (investigation) Harpal Singh cautioned people against sharing banking details, passwords or one-time passwords with strangers. The recipients expressed gratitude to the police, describing the initiative as a people-friendly measure that helped strengthen public trust in law enforcement. He was relieved to get it back.
He urged victims of online financial fraud to immediately call the national cybercrime helpline 1930. Among those who got their phones back was Vivek Mehta, a private schoolteacher, who had lost his expensive handset on July 1 and lodged a complaint at Division number 2 police station. He had lodged a complaint at Division number 7 police station but had little hope of recovering it.
Additional commissioner of police Rupinder Singh said the recoveries were made possible through coordinated efforts by the district police and cybercrime teams. Describing the initial hours after an online fraud as the “golden period”, he said prompt reporting could significantly improve the chances of freezing fraudulent transactions and recovering the money. Mehta said he continued paying EMIs for the phone even after losing it. Another recipient, Vicky, said his mobile phone had been snatched about a month ago.
On Friday, he received a call from the police informing him that the phone had been traced and could be collected from the Police Lines on Saturday.
