Big news came for people who have lost their mobile phones recently. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) launched a web portal on Monday that will help people from NCR in tracing a lost mobile phone. Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the portal is for NCR regions for now but it will be expanded in the country next year i.e. 2020.
To register a request to trace or block a mobile phone, a person will have to register the IMEI number of his phone at https://ceir.gov.in/ along with a copy of FIR. “While we make optimum use of technology for development, there are equally smart criminals who abuse technology for their own ends,” Telecom minister said in a statement.
The portal has been developed by CDOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) under the Department of Telecom and it will work in collaboration with Delhi Police and Telecom service providers to trace and block mobile phones.
DoT has been working on creating a database of IMEI numbers since 2017. An IMEIs (International Mobile Equipment Identity) is the 15-digit number that uniquely identifies mobile devices. The database is known as the Central Equipment Identity Register.
How to block a stolen device:
The procedure to do it is as follows: –
- File a report with the police, and keep a copy of the report.
- Get a duplicate SIM Card for the lost number from your telecom service provider (eg, Airtel, Jio, Voda/Idea, BSNL, MTNL etc.).
- Get your documents ready – a copy of police report and an Identity Proof must be provided. You can also provide the mobile purchase invoice.
- Fill out the request registration form for blocking the IMEI of lost/stolen phone, and attach the required documents. Click here to go to the form.
- After submitting the form, you will be given a Request ID. The same can be used for checking the status of your request and for unblocking the IMEI in future.