Lost or Stolen Mobile in Pune: How to Report Online, Block the IMEI on CEIR Sanchar Saathi and Get Your Phone Back

Last updated: 15 November 2026 · 6 min read · By Prashant Chaudhari

If your phone is lost or stolen in Pune, act in this order: lock your money, report the loss to the police online, then block the phone’s IMEI on the government’s CEIR portal on Sanchar Saathi. Blocking makes the handset useless on every Indian network and lets the police trace it if someone puts in a new SIM.

It works. Pune police returned 158 traced phones to owners in Zone I alone in July 2026, The Bridge Chronicle reported, and 456 across the city in one drive in February 2025.

Quick answer: call your bank and block UPI first, then file a lost report on the Pune police website. Next, submit a block request on sancharsaathi.gov.in with the report number, your IMEI and an ID proof. Keep the request ID; you need it to unblock the phone later.

Step 1: Secure your money and accounts in the first hour

A thief is usually more interested in your UPI apps and OTPs than in the handset. Before anything else:

• Call your bank’s helpline and ask them to block UPI, net banking and cards linked to the number.
• Ask your mobile operator to block the SIM. Visit a store the same day for a duplicate SIM with your ID; once you have it, OTPs come back to you.
• Use “Find My Device” (Android) or “Find My” (iPhone) from another device to lock or erase the phone.
• Change your email password and log out of WhatsApp from the linked devices list on a computer.

If money has already been taken, call 1930 immediately. Our guide on recovering money lost to online fraud explains why the first hour matters.

Step 2: Find your IMEI number

The IMEI is a 15-digit number unique to your handset. Dual-SIM phones have two. You can find it:

1. On the phone’s box, on a sticker near the barcode.
2. On the purchase bill or invoice.
3. In your Google account’s device list, or the Apple ID device list for iPhones.

If you still have the phone today, dial *#06# on the keypad and write the IMEI down somewhere safe. It takes ten seconds and saves a lot of trouble later.

Step 3: Report the loss to Pune police online

You do not always need to go to a police station. For a phone that was lost (not snatched), Pune city police let residents file a report on the Lost and Found section of the Pune police website. After registering, you get a Property Missing Certificate, the Free Press Journal reported. That certificate and your Aadhaar card are what you use for the CEIR request.

If the phone was snatched or stolen, go to the police station of the area where it happened and ask for a complaint to be registered. Theft is a crime, and a proper complaint helps the police link your case to others. Residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad report to the Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissionerate.

Step 4: Block the phone on CEIR Sanchar Saathi

The Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) is run by the Department of Telecommunications. Once your IMEI is on the blocked list, the phone cannot work on any Indian network, even with a new SIM. If someone tries, the system alerts the police.

How to submit the request:

1. Go to sancharsaathi.gov.in, or open the Sanchar Saathi app, and choose “Block your lost/stolen mobile handset”.
2. Enter the mobile numbers that were in the phone, the IMEI numbers, brand and model, and upload the invoice if you have it.
3. Enter where and when it was lost: state, district and date.
4. Enter the police station, the complaint or report number, and upload the report copy.
5. Enter the owner’s name, address, ID proof and email.
6. Get the OTP on another phone number you can access, accept the declaration and submit.

You get a request ID. Save it with your report. You can track the status with this ID on the same portal.

How do the police find the phone?

When someone inserts a new SIM in a blocked handset, CEIR flags the phone’s new number and location to the police. In Pune, a team from the crime branch, the cyber police station and the IT department analyses this data and contacts the people using traced phones, according to the Free Press Journal report.

Recovery drives happen zone by zone. In July 2026, Zone I stations returned 158 phones: 60 through Deccan, 35 through Samarth, 27 through Shivajinagar and the rest through Khadak, Vishrambaug and Faraskhana police stations, The Bridge Chronicle reported. Zone 5 stations returned 171 phones at an event in Hadapsar, Pune Mirror reported on X.

Recovery can take weeks or months, and not every phone comes back. Keep your report and request ID safe and answer calls from your police station.

Step 5: Unblock the phone when you get it back

If you find the phone or the police return it, unblock it yourself:

1. On sancharsaathi.gov.in, choose the option to unblock a found mobile.
2. Enter the request ID, your mobile number and the reason.
3. Verify with the OTP and submit.

The phone starts working on networks again after the unblock is processed. Inform the police station that the phone has been recovered if you found it yourself.

Buying a second-hand phone? Check it first

Stolen phones are often resold in Pune’s markets and on resale apps. Before paying, use the “Know Your Mobile” check on Sanchar Saathi to see whether the IMEI is genuine and whether it is blocked. If it is blacklisted, walk away. Always take a bill or a written receipt with the seller’s ID.

Left your phone in an auto, cab, bus or metro?

Many “lost” phones are simply left behind. Call your own number from another phone first; honest drivers and fellow passengers often answer.

• App cabs and autos: use the lost item option in the Uber, Ola or Rapido app for that ride. It lets you contact the driver without sharing your number.
• PMPML buses: note the bus number and route from your ticket and contact the depot that runs the route.
• Pune Metro: tell the station staff at your exit station as soon as you notice, with the time and direction of travel.
• Airport: items found at Pune airport are handed to the CISF and airport lost and found desk.

Read how other Punekars got their belongings back in our story on lost items at Pune airport and in cabs. If you have not traced it within a few hours, go ahead with the police report and CEIR block anyway.

Common mistakes that delay recovery

• Not filing a report: CEIR will not accept a block request without one.
• Giving the wrong IMEI: dual-SIM phones have two; add both.
• Losing the request ID: you cannot unblock without it.
• Not getting a duplicate SIM: you need that number for OTPs and police calls.
• Paying “recovery agents”: anyone who asks for money on social media to trace your phone is likely a scammer. Only the police trace phones through CEIR.

For other urgent numbers to save, see our list of Pune emergency numbers.

Frequently asked questions