Cops want DMRC to promote their online drive to track lost phones

Ghaziabad: Next time you lose your mobile phone, know that there is help at hand. There’s no need to make rounds of a police station to file a complaint. Simply fill up a form online and send it to Ghaziabad Police. Their surveillance team will try to locate the phone.
As many as 1,468 people have filed complaints online since the service was launched in November 2018 by the district police and on the basis of technical surveillance, police have managed to trace 65 lost and 49 stolen phones so far. Cops are now eyeing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s help to promote the initiative.
Police say all one needs to do is to go to the Facebook page or Twitter handle of Ghaziabad Police or its top brass to get a Google Doc link. There they can fill up the relevant details and send it online.
SP (city) Shlok Kumar, who monitors the progress of the initiative, says every few days, cops run a set of IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) numbers to locate the stolen or lost phones.
“The initiative is gaining momentum and now more people use this method of filing complaints,” he says. “Efforts are now being made to tally the list created in this manner with phones recovered after arresting mobile snatchers.”
“Moreover, I have directed police stations to prepare a list of recovered phones company-wise so that they can be forwarded to their dealers with a request to provide details of their buyers,” the SP adds.
Police are also taking help of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp groups to spread awareness. “We are in talks with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and mulling to set up up advertising boards mentioning the Google Doc link,” he says.
According to police data, over 800 cases of mobile phone theft and 300 cases of missing phones had been registered last year. Area-wise, most cases of mobile thefts were reported from Sahibabad, followed by Indirapuram, Kavi Nagar and Sihani Gate.
Residents are happy. “Someone had stolen my smartphone from my pocket in a bus. When I came to know about the initiative, I filled up the form but had very little hope. It was a surprise when I got a call from the cops,” says Manoj Kumar Yadav.