Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug 21: The Andaman and Nicobar Police have recovered 100 lost and stolen mobile phones and traced another 47 under Operation Vishwas, using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), technical surveillance and coordination among specialised teams and local police stations.
The recovered devices were handed over to their rightful owners at a programme held on Friday at the Drill Hall, Police Line, Sri Vijaya Puram, in the presence of Director General of Police Ravindra Singh Yadav, IPS.
Police said the devices were traced across West Bengal, Chennai, Kerala, Nicobar District and other Islands. The cases covered phones reported lost or stolen over several years, with the oldest traced device dating to 2023 and complaints extending through 2026.
The operation involved a Special Team constituted at the Police Station Crime and Economic Offences, which worked with technical surveillance units and local police stations to identify and recover the devices. Police used CEIR, a Government of India platform for tracking lost and stolen mobile phones, to enter details of reported devices and identify phones that were being used and could potentially be traced.
Of the devices identified through the operation, police physically recovered 100 mobile phones, while another 47 were traced and linked to the corresponding complaints and their rightful owners.
The beneficiaries included women, students, private-sector employees, government employees and other citizens who had reported their phones lost or stolen.
Police said recovering the devices was significant because mobile phones increasingly hold personal, private and sensitive information. The loss or theft of such devices can cause considerable distress, while their recovery can provide relief to affected citizens.
The police also highlighted a law-enforcement concern associated with lost and stolen phones. Such devices can potentially be misused for criminal activities, making their identification and recovery relevant to efforts to prevent misuse and address wider criminal activity.
According to the police, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are currently jointly ranked first with Andhra Pradesh in mobile-phone traceability, with a recovery or traceability rate of 57.12 per cent. Officials said the figure is expected to rise by around 11 percentage points after the currently recovered phones are handed over to their rightful owners, taking it closer to the 60 per cent level.
The operation demonstrated the use of digital tracking alongside specialised police teams and local coordination to trace devices even after they moved beyond the Islands.
Police described Operation Vishwas as part of a technology-driven, citizen-focused policing approach and said efforts to trace additional lost and stolen mobile phones would continue. The authorities also emphasised that recovered devices would be returned to their genuine owners through due procedures.
The recovery programme, police said, was intended not only to return property but also to reinforce public confidence by demonstrating the use of technology and coordinated policing in assisting citizens.
