Kozhikode: A woman who arrived at Kozhikode beach from Mysore lost her mobile phone and, in a state of panic, rushed to the town police station. She only knew that she had lost it somewhere on the beach. 

Without wasting any time, Senior Civil Police Officer K T Sreejesh took charge and traced the phone’s number. In no time, the phone, which was buried in the sand, was found.

"I will never forget the joy on her face. We all have a special connection with our phones. It is heartbreaking to see the face of someone who has lost their most beloved item. Therefore, regardless of how the phone was lost, I will search for it," Sreejesh said. Sreejesh is renowned for finding any lost phone within hours. In 2023 alone, he recovered nearly 200 phones.

Despite his busy work commitments, Sreejesh dedicates time to finding lost phones. A complaint is first registered on the Kerala Police’s "iCops" website before he begins his investigation. If the lost or stolen phone is switched off, it can only be tracked through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR). While anyone can technically do this, if it goes through the police station, an OTP is not required. Sreejesh has even gone as far as Coimbatore to retrieve lost phones.

At the town station, they receive complaints of at least three to five lost phones daily, some of which are stolen. "When we see the complainants, we understand that they do not know how to use the website. Shouldn’t we help them? We can never tell them to return tomorrow. There was a lady who lost a phone gifted to her by a loved one who had passed away. We couldn’t find her phone within a day, but I have to find that phone somehow,” Sreejesh concluded, assuring that lost phones and their distraught owners would always be taken care of.