The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Law & Order: Cellphone theft on the rise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 10, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Law & Order: Cellphone theft on the rise

Cases of mobile phone theft/ snatching top the list of crimes reported from the city, writes K.V. Subramanya

THERE SEEMS to be no tangible solution before the police to check incidents of mobile phone theft/snatching that are on the rise in Bangalore. In fact, such cases involving mobile phones top the list of crimes reported from the city, which has an estimated two million mobile phone users.

With several makes and models in the market catering to the people's fancy and communication needs, mobile phone handsets, style statements whose prices range from Rs. 1,000 to a Rs. 1 lakh, are much sought after by criminals.

The police say that more people are taking to this crime as the mobile phones can be easily stolen and disposed of.

The absence of a policy to regulate the sale of used mobile phones has only helped the criminals.

According to the police, about 300 cases are registered in the city every month and at least an equal number go unreported. Most of the culprits are youngsters and they mainly target college-going girls, call centre or IT employees as they usually own high-end handsets.

There is a huge market for stolen handsets in the city as well as in the districts though the culprits prefer to dispose of them in the districts as it ensures good price and reduced risk.

Cellphone thieves have a good thing going because tracking a stolen phone on the basis of its 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number has been of little use.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gopal B. Hosur suggests that service providers put in place a technology-enabled system wherein the stolen handset can be deactivated.

"Then they will be of no use and there will be no takers for the used handsets. This will automatically end the menace," he told The Hindu. However, he was quick to add that the service providers should deactivate the handset only on the instruction from the police and not the complainant as it could lead to other problems.

On the other hand, many people who have had their handsets stolen accuse the police of not registering their complaints under the proper category and not issuing a first information report (FIR). The police usually issue only an acknowledgment challan. Mobile phone is included under Electronic Goods Category and this makes it difficult even for the police to maintain accurate records of mobile phones stolen or snatched.

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