SP V. Vidyasagar Naidu speaks at the ‘Mobile Recovery Mela’ held at Rayachoti in Annamayya district on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
The police in Annamayya district recovered 601 lost or stolen mobile phones valued at about ₹1.2 crore and returned them to their rightful owners during the seventh “Mobile Recovery Mela” held at the district police office on Wednesday. Interestingly, many of the recovered mobile phones were traced to Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and even as far as Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to the media, Superintendent of Police V. Vidyasagar Naidu said: “Between November 2024 and May 2025, the police received over 1,300 complaints related to missing or stolen mobile phones. A special team was formed on May 5, led by Inspector S. Mohammad Ali and Technical Analysis Reserve Inspector T. John Joseph. We used the services of the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal and WhatsApp network to trace and recover the lost or stolen devices.
So far, across seven phases, the team has successfully traced and recovered 1,627 mobile phones worth about ₹3.16 crore. Mr. Naidu said that people who have lost their mobiles can report the loss by simply sending a “Hi” message to the police’s WhatsApp number, 8688830012, or can register their complaint on the CEIR website. There is no need to file FIR.
The SP appealed to people to immediately block the numbers of the lost mobiles and asked them to avoid purchasing second-hand phones without valid receipts.
Published – June 04, 2025 07:19 pm IST