Telangana CID recovers over 1.24 lakh stolen mobile phones, tops national chart

The CEIR portal to combat mobile theft was initially piloted in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, and the North-Eastern states on September 5, 2022. Telangana joined the initiative 226 days later, on April 19, 2023.

Hyderabad: Telangana's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has recovered 1,24,850 stolen mobile phones since the launch of the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal in 2023, emerging as the top-performing state in the country for mobile device recovery.

The CEIR portal, developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to combat mobile theft and curb the use of counterfeit devices, was initially piloted in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, and the North-Eastern states on September 5, 2022. Telangana joined the initiative 226 days later, on April 19, 2023. Despite the delayed start, the state has since set a national benchmark, surpassing all other states on the CEIR dashboard as of April 26, 2026.

CID Additional Director General Charu Sinha said the system is now fully operational across all 780 police stations in the state. Telangana CID serves as the nodal agency for CEIR implementation within the state.

Several key measures have driven Telangana's success, said Charu Sinha. A dedicated core team, led by the Superintendent of Police, CITA, CID, was constituted at the state level to address technical issues and ensure round-the-clock monitoring. Nodal Officers (Inspectors, IT Cell) and Assistant Nodal Officers were trained through a structured Training of Trainers (ToT) programme, who in turn trained police station-level CEIR operators across all units.

“A standardised workflow was established from the initial blocking request to trace and return devices to their rightful owners. Traceability reports at the police station level are categorised into three tiers - easy, moderately difficult, and very difficult - to recover enabling prioritised action. In cases where mobile phones were found to be in use outside Telangana and their holders were reluctant to return them, Station House Officers issued notices under Section 91 of the CrPC. Regular feedback from district units was also routed to DoT, contributing to iterative improvements in the portal's software,” said Charu Sinha.

Outstanding performers among police stations and units have been recognised and rewarded by the Director General of Police, Telangana, and the ADGP, CID, on a regular basis.