Selfie leads woman to stolen phone

Thief was identified but is on the run

A resident of Feroz Shah Kotla who lost her mobile phone on November 2 helped the police trace her phone and also identify the thief, thanks to a feature activated by her.

November 2 incident

Freelance teacher Sangeeta Aggarwal realised her phone was stolen when she reached home in the afternoon on November 2.

“I got down at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium bus stand. When I reached home, I realised my phone was missing from my handbag,” Ms. Aggarwal told the police.

However, she did not report the matter to the police the same day. A feature activated on her smartphone backed up all the photographs taken from the phone on her e-mail id.

“I saw an unknown person’s selfie in the photo folder of my e-mail account the next day,” she said, adding that she immediately realised the unknown person was in possession of her phone.

Technical surveillance

She reported the matter to the police and a case under Section 379 (punishment for theft) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at Daryaganj police station. Her phone was put under technical surveillance and the location of the photograph traced to Kala Mahal in Daryaganj.

“The selfie was shown to shopkeepers in the area and the accused identified as Naseem Mohd,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) Mandeep Randhawa. The police searched his home and recovered the phone.

“However, the accused is on the run. Efforts are on to nab him,” the DCP said.