The Indian Railways and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have established a new partnership to help passengers recover lost mobile phones through integration with the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been onboarded to the CEIR system as part of broader efforts to enhance railway security and combat device theft. The partnership extends India’s existing CEIR infrastructure, which has proven effective in tracking and blocking stolen mobile devices nationwide.
The CEIR portal maintains a database of IMEI numbers and enables the RPF to track and locate lost mobile devices. The system has already shown significant effectiveness in other jurisdictions, with the Pune City Police successfully recovering 456 lost mobile phones through the platform. The achievement builds upon similar initiatives across India’s law enforcement agencies to combat mobile device theft.
“A significant milestone in railway security,” said Railway Protection Force Director General Manoj Yadava about the collaboration. The initiative follows the success of other programs like Delhi Metro Police’s “Mission Reconnect,” which recovered 450 stolen phones valued at over Rs 1 crore, demonstrating the growing effectiveness of coordinated device recovery efforts across India’s transportation networks.
The implementation follows a successful pilot program in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). The system works by blocking IMEI numbers of lost or stolen devices, which helps prevent illegal possession and resale while facilitating recovery through tracking capabilities. The technology is part of a comprehensive approach to device security that includes broader initiatives to block compromised SIM cards and IMEI numbers linked to criminal activities.
The integration is part of DoT’s broader telecommunications security enhancement initiatives launched in 2024, which included the deactivation of 34 million fraudulent mobile connections. The nationwide rollout across Indian Railways is expected to benefit millions of passengers who use the railway system, while contributing to the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen digital security infrastructure across the country’s transportation networks.
Sources: The Week, Mobile ID World, PIB
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