The Chittoor police recovered 500 high-end mobile phones worth over ₹1 crore and handed them over to owners.
Addressing a presser here on Saturday, Superintendent of police (SP) Y. Rishant Reddy said the recovery set a record as regards action plan and speed of execution. “We recovered a majority of the mobile phones within four hours of receiving a complaint,” he said, adding that the recovery was made from many districts in Andhra Pradesh and other States and UTs, including Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, New Delhi, Kerala, Bihar and West Bengal.
Mr. Rishant Reddy said that the victims lodged complaints from other districts and States and that the services of chatbot made the recovery easier.
How to use the chatbot
Earlier in the day, the SP organised a ‘Mobile Recovery Mela’ at the police guest house conference hall here. After returning the mobile phones to their owners, the SP explained how to avail of the chatbot services.
Those who lost their mobile phone should first send a ‘Hi’ or ‘Help’ to WhatsApp number 9440900004. After that, a link—‘Welcome’—would be sent to them, which would take them to a Google form. Fill in details such as district, name, age, father’s name, address, contact number, missing mobile phone model, IMEI numbers, and missing place. The complaint would be lodged immediately, the SP said.
