Batala police return lost mobile phones to over 300 owners

Losing a mobile phone is like losing a part of yourself as the device holds a person’s digital identity, memories of varied kinds and personal connections.

This was the consensus among the 300-odd persons who had gathered at the Shiv Batalvi auditorium here on Tuesday. The Batala police had organised a function to return their mobile phones to them. At one time or the other in the past three months, they had either misplaced their phones or someone had stolen them. The cost of these phones, many of them high-end devices, has been pegged at Rs 60 lakh.

In all, in the last 10 months, if the police claims are to be believed, the cops have returned nearly 1000 phones to their owners. The cost of these devices is Rs 2 crore.

SSP Suhail Qasim Mir, who has been at the forefront of various public-welfare measures, said, “Initially, a wave of denial and anxiety sets in. A person replays his steps, bargains with fate, and feels a deep sense of vulnerability. Beyond the monetary value, the true loss is the photos of forgotten moments, the messages that capture a time in your life, and the digital access to your banking and social networks. Each phone carried a unique story of hardship, loss, and eventually, joy at its recovery,” he said.

A delivery boy, working with a food delivery online platform, lost his phone. He tried to locate it but failed to do so. In trying to find his phone, he had wasted precious time of his company. Consequently, his employers fired him from his job. “My image among my family members in particular and society in general got tarnished. Moreover, my family was dependent upon me for its financial needs. Finally, last week, I got a call from the SSp office saying my phone had been found by the police. My joy knew no bounds. The Batala police are my lifesavers,” he said on the sidelines of the function.

The SSP gave credit to head constable Jatinder Singh and IT officer Harpreet Kaur of the cyber-crime police station.

“Tracing a lost phone is not a simple task. It requires tireless follow-ups, advanced technical tracking, coordination with telecom service providers across states and countless hours of ground verification. Once a phone’s digital footprint is traced, teams often have to reach out to distant districts and even other states to secure recovery,” said a senior officer.

A lady advocate broke into tears as she held her phone again, explaining that it was “a priceless gift from her late brother.” She said recovering it was like reconnecting with a memory of her loved one and publicly thanked the policemen for their cooperation.

For many, the returned phones contained family photos, educational data, bank information, and professional contacts. Owners described the return not merely as the recovery of a gadget, but as regaining an important part of their lives. The smiles on their faces was the greatest reward for the Batala Police team.

Citizens have now urged to promptly report their missing devices at the Cyber Crime Police Station or the control room.