‘I’m so thankful’: Commuter gets lost iPhone back with help of railway cops

Pranay Bhagat is deeply grateful to the railway cops On December 6 he had lost a brand new iPhone on the train and was dejected by the thought that he would never get it back ldquoI had bought the new iPhone just last month and lost it in the train at CSMT on Saturday Since the phone was new I had not activated its safety mechanisms I tried to track it down but couldnrsquot at my level I had also filed a complaint with the railway police I am so happy that I did so because I got my device back Irsquom so thankful to the railway copsrdquo Bhagat saidHe was among thousands of Mumbai railway commuters many of them emotional and happy who had turned up at a huge gathering on Wednesday at the Police Grounds in Ghatkopar mdash the headquarters of the railway police department mdash where their mobile phones stolen on the cityrsquos local trains and stations were handed back to them after due verificationA lsquowall of phonesrsquo set up by the Railway police to display recovered devices PICSRAJENDRA B AKLEKARWrapped in a brown envelope in a plastic cover many opened the packets to find their phone intact ldquoOf course the data was gone but I got my phone back It has resale valuerdquo said Prathamesh KadamHow many phonesldquoIn total 1018 phones have been returned to their original owners after due verification Of these 444 were recovered from Mumbai itself 216 from Maharashtra and 358 from other states like Uttar Pradesh Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh The total estimated value of the phones recovered is Rs 18 crore Rs 18033668 Mumbai railway police commissioner M Rakesh Kalasagar told middayThese phones were recovered in the second phase of the operation between September and November 2025 stolen in the years 2023 2024 and 2025 Under the first phase in June and July 2025 a total of 684 mobile phones worth R11139626 were recovered and returned to their owners on July 25Teams involvedDuring this special campaign 28 teams from Central Railway and 29 from Western Railway mdash making a total of 57 teams mdash actively worked on this operation Through their efforts mobile phones stolen and taken across 17 states of India and in Union Territories such as Dadra and Nagar Haveli Daman and Diu were traced and recoveredBeneficiaries thrilledKaushik Somaiya had lost his phone in the train Someone stole it at Dadar in May 2025 He had filed a complaint and forgotten about it when he got a call from the railway police about his device being recovered and that he should come in to collect it ldquoThe data inside the phone is gone but my phone is back with merdquo Kaushik saidRocky Pathak said he regretted the time he slept off in the train at GTB station as when he woke up at CSMT his phone was missing He tried to call it but no one answered ldquoI filed a complaint at CSMT police station and here I am today with my phone again I thank the railway police for thisrdquo he saidThis is how lost mobiles are foundTwoteam approachUnlike the city police which hands you over a lost certificate the railway police have an elaborate mechanism to track and trace lost mobile phones Once a complaint is lodged and verified two teams track the phones simultaneouslyTracking blocked phonesThe stolen phone is never switched on immediately But whenever it is switched on even for a minute the phonersquos location is tracked using the IMEI number and the phonersquos hardware There are advanced mechanisms in place to get an alertTeen sawalM Rakesh Kalasagar Railway police commissionerWhat is the first thing to do when one loses a phoneThe commuter needs to call up our lsquo1512rsquo helpline number alert us and file a complaint We can then activate our mechanisms to track and trace the phoneCan this be done online Does one need to visit the police stationYes Commuters can do it online through the helpline Once that is done the complainant must visit the police station to complete due formalities after which we begin the processHow difficult is it to get phones back to their ownersIt is a detailed investigation Our boys not only recover phones from Mumbai but across Maharashtra and India from states along the border as wellVoicesPranay BhagatlsquoI was so happy that I filed a complaint because I got my device backrsquoKaushik SomaiyalsquoThe data inside the phone is gone but my phone is back with mersquoRocky PathaklsquoI filed a complaint at CSMT police station and here I am today with my phone againrsquoPrathamesh KadamlsquoOf course the data was gone but I got my phone back It has resale valuersquo