Bokaro: At least 47 stolen or missing mobile phones recovered by Bokaro police were returned to their owners at Steel City police station on Saturday. The devices were tracked and recovered using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal, police said.However, many owners said the phones came back with cracked screens, damaged bodies and drained batteries, suggesting prolonged use. “It looked like it had served multiple masters,” said one recipient.Jitendra Sah, a resident of Dundibag, said his phone was stolen from his room, but police registered only a general dairy. Nine months later, it was recovered, yet no action followed. “The phone was stolen, used and returned but the thief vanished into thin air,” Sah said.Saurabh Kumar, a community health officer hailing from Bihar’s West Champaran, said his handset worth Rs 40,000 was recovered after almost three years in damaged condition. “Who kept it alive all this time? Police should at least nab and punish him,” he added.“The total value of the recovered 47 mobiles returned on Saturday is around Rs 12 lakh,” said DSP (city) Alok Ranjan. Police have recovered over 60 mobiles in the last 15 days.As many as 28,960 complaints of lost or stolen mobile phones have been registered across the state, of which 19,345 were traced through the Sanchar Saathi portal. Only 3,760 devices have been recovered so far, at a rate of 19.44% till Sunday.
