Lost phone

 

Hoysala cops help student recover lost phone within hours in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A city college student's quick thinking and timely action by the city police helped recover her lost iPhone Pro Max within hours after it went missing outside St Joseph's College for Commerce on Brigade Road Wednesday morning.

The first-year BCom student, Saanvi, realised she had accidentally dropped her phone near the college gate. She immediately approached the college authorities and accessed CCTV footage, which showed a street sweeper picking up an object from the pavement opposite the gate and placing it in his pocket. She recorded the footage on her friend's phone.

Using the ‘Find My Phone' feature from a friend's mobile, she tracked the device's location to Ayyappa Garden in Viveknagar, 5km away from her college. She and her friends then went to the area and showed the CCTV clip to local residents, asking if they recognised the man. But in vain.

She then dialled 112 (police control room) and requested police assistance. Within eight minutes, a Hoysala patrol vehicle arrived at the spot. Assistant sub-inspector Venkatesh and head constable Rajashekhar from Ashoknagar police station took over the inquiry.

Explaining the sequence of events to the officers, she said she was certain the phone was inside a nearby house. The policemen began questioning locals about whether any person engaged in street sweeping or working for GBA lived in the area. After brief enquiries, a youth identified the man in the CCTV footage and directed them to the house of Ramaiah.

When questioned, Ramaiah, 45, admitted to have found the phone outside the college and taken it home as he did it know who it belonged to. "By then, his son came out of the house and said his father did not know what to do with the phone, and that is why he kept it in the house. The device was not switched off. We also asked Ramaiah why he did not answer the calls made to the phone, and Ramaiah replied he did not know any language other than Telugu, so he did not answer. However, the student did not wish to file any complaint. She checked the phone and confirmed it was in working condition. We warned Ramaiah and his son that it was their duty to hand over the phone to the nearest police station," police told TOI.

Saanvi had her phone by 1pm back in her hand.