Vikarabad Police implements CEIR, tracks 10 missing phones on Day 1

Hyderabad: In a first for the state, the Vikarabad police started using the central equipment identity register (CEIR), a DoT database of mobile equipment identifiers, to track stolen and lost phones, tracing more than 10 phones in the past 24 hours.

In one of the instances, the mobile phone of a complainant, 25-year-old D. Kashappa, was traced within an hour of him lodging a police complaint, the police said.

Vikarabad additional superintendent of police Muralidhar said that the mobile phone was recovered and handed over to the complainant. He said that one of the benefits of using the CEIR is that residents of the district can approach any police station to file a complaint about missing or stolen phones.

“Based on the complaint, the police will verify the details and register with the CEIR to trace it out,” he said, adding that Kashappa had lost his phone near his residence in Daulatabad and that the police tracked it using signals.

Across the state, preparations are being made to maximise the use of the CEIR. In Hyderabad, the public can approach police stations or file a complaint through the Hawk Eye mobile app, while the Nalgonda Police has started training its personnel on how to utilise the service to trace mobile phones.