RAWALPINDI:The police have launched a project for traders, in collaboration with the Punjab Information Technology Board, to control the sale and purchase of stolen mobile phones in district markets.

Under the project, a mobile phone application called E-Gadget will be launched for traders to check mobile phone thefts and recover stolen mobile phones.

City Police Officer Abbas Ahsan directed the superintendents of Potohar, Rawal and Saddar divisions to collect data on all mobile phone sale and repair shops in their respective limits and submit it by today (Monday).

A police official said the app would help traders trace stolen mobile phones by entering IMEI numbers. Once a customer’s phone’s IMEI number has been entered into the system, the history of the phone will be available in a police control room to help police locate stolen phones and arrest suspects.

He said the application would help check mobile phone theft and associated crimes. Two police officers in Rawalpindi are being trained to activate the application and check its performance.

The police will distribute a pro forma among shopkeepers selling, buying and repairing new and old mobile phones, which will be sent back to the computer in-charge of the police department.

The pro forma will contain the name of the shop, the owner’s name, CNIC number and mobile phone number, the mobile phone IMEI, email address and the shop address and the jurisdiction within which the shop is located.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2019