26k phones worth 62cr stolen on city rail network in 30 months
Last month, after GRP commissioner Rakesh Kalasagar took charge, the department cranked up its efforts and recovered 500 stolen handsets. These phones will be returned to their owners at an event on Friday.
Police keep tracking stolen phones for months afterwards. A special cyber cell has been set up at the GRP commissionerate to assist police stations with the task. "Whenever the buyer of a stolen phone that has been refurbished begins to use it, we search for his location and retrieve the phone," said an officer.
There have been instances where refurbished phones sold in Mumbai turn up in Jharkhand, Bihar or Rajasthan.
GRP teams have travelled all over the country to retrieve stolen phones. Buyers have also been booked in cases where they have knowingly purchased stolen phones.
From drug addicts to organised gangs, investigators have apprehended a range of offenders over the years. Lately, a former health sciences student was nabbed by the GRP's crime branch with 21 stolen phones.
Tufail Memon, 25, had dropped out after his first year. Police said he was hooked to online gaming and the need for funds drove him to crime.
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In a separate case, the GRP arrested a member of an inter-state gang of thieves that stole phones on the railways and also struck at crowded events like Ganga Aarti in Varanasi and Jagannath Yatra in Odisha to relieve visitors of their handsets. "The gang would segregate their loot into high-end phones and middle or low range ones.
The high-end phones were sent abroad for sale, while the rest were sold locally to 'receivers'.
These men could either take apart the spare parts or refurbish the phones for resale within India," said a police officer.
Data with the GRP shows that phone thefts dipped slightly from 12,159 cases in 2023 to 10,981 in 2024. The detection rate has been somewhat the same-- 44% to 45%.
"In some instances, individuals from low-income groups purchase refurbished phones from big metros and carry them to their hometowns or gift them to a family member in their hometown for use," the officer said. "Our advice would be to always buy a phone which comes in a sealed box and ask for a receipt."
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