NAGPUR: In a special Diwali gift to citizens, Nagpur City Police have traced and recovered 180 missing mobile phones worth Rs 31.56 lakh and returned them to their rightful owners. The phones were recovered through technical investigation based on complaints registered at six police stations under Zone 3 of Nagpur Police.

The recovery drive covered Kotwali, Ganeshpeth, Tehsil, Lakadganj, Panchpaoli and Shantinagar police station jurisdictions. Officers and personnel used technical surveillance and cyber investigation methods to trace the missing devices and establish contact with their original owners.

According to police officials, Kotwali Police recovered 14 mobile phones worth Rs 2.63 lakh, while Ganeshpeth Police traced 20 devices valued at Rs 3.14 lakh. Tehsil Police recovered 32 mobile phones worth Rs 7.05 lakh, while Lakadganj Police traced 26 devices valued at Rs 4.21 lakh.

Panchpaoli Police made the highest recovery, tracing 67 mobile phones worth Rs 11.45 lakh.

Shantinagar Police recovered another 21 devices.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of the Police Commissioner, Joint Commissioner of Police, Additional Commissioner of Police (North Regional Division), Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 3, and Assistant Commissioners of Police of Lakadganj and Kotwali divisions.

The teams included Kotwali Senior Police Inspector Prashant Jumde, PSI Dnyaneshwar More and woman police constable Mukta Sakharwade; Ganeshpeth Senior PI Atul Kawade, PSI Amit Shelke and woman police constable Divyashree Lade; Tehsil Senior PI Sanjay Mendhe, PSI Suraj Sirsat and police constable Sumit Chaudhary; and Lakadganj Senior PI Mukund Kawade, PSI Balaji Mane, head constable Prakash Surjuse and constable Vishal Thakre.

Similarly, the Panchpaoli team was led by Senior PI Jitendra Bobde, PSI Prakash Chandewar and constables Ashish Patil and Ashwin Jadhav. The Shantinagar team included Senior PI Gajanan Tamde, PSI Prashantraj Jadhav and constable Aditya Gondane.

Police constable Mahendra Selukar from the Zone 3 DCP office's Cyber Branch, along with cyber assistants Rupanshu Yadav, Ketaki Tambekar, Shruti Dhote, Ashwini Bawankar and Vaishnavi Bawankar, also played an important role in tracing the devices.

Police said the recovery drive highlights the force's technological capabilities, prompt response and commitment towards citizens. Returning the missing phones ahead of Diwali was described as a special festive gift to their owners.