Arun 795 Report post Posted January 30, 2007 30 Jan, 2007 2010hrs IST Times News Network The last year saw more than 6,694 reports of mobile theft. And it is only since the past six months that an electronic network was established to monitor mobile theft. So, the actual number is probably higher. The poor recovery rate dissuades most victims from reporting the loss of a mobile phone. As singer Vandana Vadhera, whose cell was stolen recently, says, "I saw no point in going to the police as their recovery rate of stolen mobiles is dismal." Adds Puneet Sharma, who bought a high-end mobile set but to his utter dismay, it went missing in his office, "I tried to file an FIR but when I went to the police station, I was told the chances of recovery are very slim, so I never reported the case." "I may not be able to comment on the recovery status of the mobiles," says Deependra Pathak, Addl Commissioner of Police, Delhi. "But yes, I do feel that there is a need to install a proper central surveillance system to curb this growing menace. I believe talks are on to establish such system that will be at par with international standards, and it should cme soon to the capital too." What makes stolen mobile phones so lucrative that the second hand market has an annual turnover of Rs 200 crore in India? "Disposing mobile phones is easy. They can be sold off fast," says Ashish Jain, a mobile dealer. It is believed that there is also a huge international market for stolen mobiles, but police inaction makes evidence or data hard to come by. There have been no joint operations on the issue between police forces from different countries either. "What we need is a system that can track down IMEI numbers of stolen handsets, enabling one to check whether the phone one is buying or selling is stolen or not," explains Lt Gen D P Sehgal, telecom expert. But telecom operators and the administration seem keener to pass the buck as the high price of installing such a system makes both wary of taking it up. "We had a meeting to solve this problem, but nothing concrete came out of it. Service providers backed off saying that it is the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) or the government who should be doing it," says a highly placed officer in TRAI. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
copperco2 24 Report post Posted February 1, 2007 well its like a TATA handset is stolen then again the thief or anyone purchases it will still be on the TATA networkand the aggrieved person willhave to go for a new handset and most probably if he reports theft he will get the same number. so the result is actually two connections. what do u say guys.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
