22,943 missing mobile phone cases lodged in 2020: Pune police
Pune: Forgetting mobile phones in cafe, slipping from pocket while catching a bus or jogging are some of the common reasons given by the 22,943 Puneites who lost their handsets in 2020
Pune: Forgetting mobile phones in cafe, slipping from pocket while catching a bus or jogging are some of the common reasons given by the 22,943 Puneites who lost their handsets in 2020.
Even as a major part of 2020 confined residents indoor, the Pune police “lost and found” online portal registered many cases related to missing mobile phones. The portal was started by the Pune police in 2017.
“As most of the crime units are busy tracking other cases, we utilised technology to trace missing mobiles. We have a technical analysis cell, launched as a pilot project, where mobile experts track missing mobiles,” said Bachchan Singh, deputy commissioner of police, crime branch, Pune. The cell has managed to find 910 mobiles which were reactivated by using new SIM cards. Of these, 55 are found within Pune jurisdiction.
“Of the 55 retrieved mobiles, we have identified and returned 35 to its owners,” he said. The probe revealed that some missing mobiles are active in states like Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
In January 2021, the lost and found portal of Pune police received 3,282 complaints of missing mobiles.
“I lost my mobile on Fergusson College road in November 2020, the Pune police managed to track it by December 27,” said Amol Shinde.
Lost and some found
The missing mobile phone cases registered at Pune police portal in 2020
January 3,282
February 2,914
March 2,206
April 620
May 1,079
June 1,136
July 1,417
August 1,895
September 1,757
October 2,319
November 2,269
December 2,049
Source: Crime Branch Pune Police