The cyber cops were allegedly busy watching the India-England T20 World Cup semifinals. Five youngsters then decided to turn investigators.
The Kottayam youngsters who traced the stolen smartphone (Supplied)
On 10 November, Thursday, a Samsung M52 smartphone was stolen from a house in Nagampadam, Kottayam, around 11 am.
After finding the local policeman engrossed in a cricket match, P Govind, a nephew of the woman whose smartphone was stolen, alerted four of his friends. The Kottayam youngsters then launched the search, since being termed “Operation Smartphone” by the local media.
The five youngsters not only found the Samsung M52 by 10 pm on the same day, but also recovered six other smartphones, which the police now suspect are stolen.
Immediately after they realised the smartphone was stolen, the family filed a complaint at the Kottayam West Police Station, which then forwarded it to the Cyber Police Station.
The family alleges police apathy.
“When we arrived at the Cyber PS, the policemen there were watching the T20 World Cup semifinal match between India and England. They showed the least interest in processing the complaint and locating the phone. At that time, the phone was ringing,” said a relative.
This attitude of the police was what forced the youths to don the hat of investigators, the relative added.
In their 20s, the youngsters — Govind, Athul Rajesh, Amal Sam Varghese, Nevin T Zakaria, and Akhil George — made use of a virtual assistant and Google’s Find My Device application.
“We were lucky because the phone was not switched off. We located the smartphone in Kurichy, around 13 km away from the house,” Govind told South First.
Akhil, who was also part of “Operation Smartphone”, told South First that the person behind the theft had made a mistake and did not switch the phone off.
“It seems he messed up. Instead of switching it off, he activated Bixby, Samsung’s virtual assistant,” said Akhil.
The dilapidated place in Kurichy where the smartphones were found (Supplied)
“We had alerted the police about the location (Kurichy). But they remained unenthusiastic. We then rushed to the spot. It was like a hiding place. It was full of thorny shrubs and bushes. In the middle of it was a dilapidated building,” said Govind.
The youngsters went inside though they were wary.
“It was around 10 pm. We were nervous that either the drug peddlers or anti-socials might attack us. When we reached the spot, there was no one. We then selected the Play Sound option and found our phone,” said Govind.
The dilapidated place in Kurichy where the smartphones were found (Supplied)
“It was after the mission that we came to know that even locals fear entering this place. According to them, the area is a favourite hangout of drug consumers and anti-socials,” he added.
In the dilapidated building in Kurichy, the youngsters found six other mobile phones, which the police suspect to be stolen (Supplied)
The youths, who are in their 20s, thanked a retired sub-inspector of police, KK Reji, a resident of Kurichy, and two other locals for making their smartphone search operation successful.
The Kottayam youngsters, who found the Samsung M52 smartphone along with six other mobiles in the dilapidated house in Kurichy, then handed them over to a police patrol team from Chingavanam Police Station.
The police party had arrived there after Reji alerted them.
The Chingavanam Police then said the phones would be handed over to their owners after following the proper procedure.
“We received our smartphone back on the very next day (11 November) from the Kottayam West Police Station,” said Arun, Govind’s cousin.
The youngsters are on cloud nine due to the media limelight.
But they said that it was a request from the Kottayam West Police Station that made them particularly happy.
“They asked us if we would help them locate lost phones hereafter, if needed,” said Akhil.
According to an officer of the cyber cell, in case of theft, a first information report (FIR) will have to be filed.
Information such as the model, colour, and IMEI number of the phone has to be shared with the police.
Disabling the SIM card as well as changing the passwords of linked applications such as social media accounts, bank accounts, email IDs, and others are also essential.
Upon finding the phone, the police will present the property to the court. The complainants will get their phones back from the court upon filing an application for return of property.
The court will demand proof. For that, the phone bill or purchase details are enough.
According to the officer, activating applications such as Find My Mobile, which even works offline, is crucial. And so is signing into Google’s Find My Device.
