GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1574
TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 23RD JULY, 2014/SARVANA 1, 1936 (SAKA)

MANDATORY REGISTRATION OF FIR FOR STOLEN MOBILE PHONES

1574. DR. K.P. RAMALINGAM

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that mobile phone theft has become a major
challenge for law enforcement agencies particularly due to national
security implications attached to it;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is also a fact that Government is considering it

mandatory to getting FIRs registered for each stolen mobile handset
and immediately blocking it to prevent its misuse by anti-social
elements; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

(SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a) to (d): No Sir. National Telecom Policy 2012 provides for

facilitating establishment of a National Mobile Property Registry for
addressing security, theft and other concerns including
reprogramming of mobile handsets. There are more than 900 million
SIMs/handset in circulation in the country and it is liable only on the
part of the individual to stop its functioning and for its probable misuse
if any from the operators. Further, the individuals are at liberty to file
an FIR or report of loss of the handset / sim, thereby to prevent the
cause of its misuse. An Advisory to States/UTs was issued on 5-2-2014
for the Compulsory Registration of FIR u/s 154 Cr.P.C when the
information makes out a cognizable offence, which would also cover
the above.
…2/-
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R.S.U.S.Q.NO. 1574 FOR 23.7.2014
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not collect data on
mobile phone theft separately. However, State and UT wise cases of
electronic components stolen and recovered in the country during
2011 to 2013 are enclosed at Annexure. The number of cases of
mobile phones theft registered by Delhi Police during the period 2011,
2012, 2013 and 2014 (upto 30.06.2014) is as under:-
2011 2012 2013 2014 (upto
30.06.2014)
1123 1205 3610 7159

Police promptly registers FIR in all cases, where the Mobile Phones
have reportedly been stolen. The complainant is also advised to inform
the Service Provider to block the SIM to prevent misuse. Moreover,
concrete steps /measures have also been taken by Police to make the
public aware of their rights to lodge a complaint/FIR in Police Stations.
There is a sign board in the Duty Officer’s room of every Police Station,
indicating the right of complainant to lodge an FIR. Efforts are made by
Police to track/trace stolen mobile phones are as under:-
The Investigating Officer makes necessary efforts to track and recover
the stolen mobile phones. These include contacting the service
providers, ascertaining the user details of the number on which the
handset is activated subsequent to this theft and visiting the address
mentioned in the subscriber form. The technical knowhow pertaining
to IMEI number of a stolen mobile phone is available only with the
service providers and necessary follow-up of a painstaking kind is
done with the service providers to scan and work upon the IMEI
numbers of stolen phones, in order to trace them. Zonal Integrated
Police Network (ZIPNET) has been provided which contains the details
(IMEI numbers) of lost/stolen mobile handsets. Citizen are advised to
check the list of stolen/list mobile handsets on the ZIPNET before
purchasing a pre-owned mobile phone.
Further, the Government has emphasized that the Law Enforcement
Agencies i.e. Police, Prosecution and Judiciary etc. and the Public at
large may be made aware and for the effective implementation of
Information Technology Act, 2000 read with Information Technology
(Amendment) Act 2008 and Rules made there under, as these are
effective laws to deal with matters on Crimes. Agencies like
NASSCOM, NTRO, CERT-In etc. may also be taken for training. The
aforesaid measures are only indicative and the State Governments/UT
Administrations may consider any additional measures for the
preventing & combating crime as necessary.

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 RSUSQNO.1574
Annexure

STATE AND UT WISE CASES OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS STOLEN (CSL) AND RECOVERED (CRV) DURING 2011 TO
2013
S. STATE/UT 2011 2012 2013
NO.
CSL CRV CSL CRV CSL CRV

1 ANDHRA PRADESH 1136 694 1293 874 1337 807

2 ARUNACHAL PRAESH 73 22 73 25 70 15

3 ASSAM 317 74 319 68 218 102

4 BIHAR 1188 160 921 179 581 58

5 CHHATTISGARH 310 94 238 81 325 116

6 GOA 133 21 137 43 126 26

7 GUJARAT 521 213 536 218 590 180

8 HARYANA 816 277 708 175 954 329

9 HIMACHAL PRAESH 168 55 143 56 128 39

10 JAMMU & KASHMIR 154 38 45 21 34 18

11 JHARKHAND 194 44 216 33 315 62

12 KARNATAKA 3871 288 1946 296 2833 301

13 KERALA 553 288 460 276 641 362

14 MADHYA PRADESH 1928 761 1760 643 1814 709

15 MAHARASHTRA 2019 522 1913 461 2705 686

16 MANIPUR 75 5 64 4 58 7

17 MEGHALAYA 47 13 69 27 98 9
18 MIZORAM 226 170 117 86 87 68

19 NAGALAND 27 11 30 5 35 12

20 ODISHA 100 32 121 48 203 51

21 PUNJAB 353 182 337 214 400 195

22 RAJASTHAN 294 66 273 61 230 45

23 SIKKIM 29 11 19 13 45 28

24 TAMIL NADU 921 756 841 700 916 740

25 TRIPURA 37 18 26 11 70 44

26 UTTAR PRADESH 162 49 104 40 31 15

27 UTTARAKHAND 6 2 13 7 14 6

28 WEST BENGAL 2726 779 1626 575 1789 486

TOTAL (STATES) 18384 5645 14348 5240 16647 5516

29 A&N ISLANDS 24 13 28 6 16 6
30 CHANDIGARH 173 53 264 135 283 148
31 D&N HAVELI 1 0 10 5 9 8
32 DAMAN & DIU 5 0 6 4 7 3
33 DELHI UT 1155 347 967 274 2376 317
34 LAKSHADWEEP 1 0 2 0 8 0
35 PUDUCHERRY 34 19 40 30 31 16
TOTAL (UTS) 1393 432 1317 454 2730 498

TOTAL (ALL INDIA) 19777 6077 15665 5694 19377 6014

SOURCE: CRIME IN INDIA DATA

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