Bidhannagar police have posted on their Facebook page the identification numbers of stolen cell phones and laptops which have just been recovered, a move officers hope would help expedite the process of returning them to their owners.

The post on the Facebook page of Bidhannagar City Police mentions a phone number — 40605555 — which the owners of the items have been requested to call. An officer said the owners could collect their items from the commissionerate’s office in Salt Lake after producing valid documents.

The request was posted on Tuesday, two days after the police had seized 158 mobile phones, 22 laptops, two tablets and several gold and silver ornaments following raids in Beleghata, Kharagpur and Dhanekhali.

On Monday, 10 of the owners tracked down by the police fetched their belongings from the commissionerate’s office after showing the required papers.

“The owners of 116 cell phones and 16 laptops are yet to be traced. So we decided to post the IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) numbers of the cell phones and the serial numbers of the laptops on the Facebook page,” said Kankar Prasad Barui, the deputy commissioner of the commissionerate’s detective department.

An IMEI number is a 15-digit number unique to a cell phone, which the service provider can use to trace a handset. The number is usually printed inside the battery compartment and on the box containing the phone. The money receipt issued by the retailer mentions the number, too.

The move by the Bidhannagar police provides a relief from the long-drawn process of getting stolen items back. In the usual process, the police report the recovery of a stolen item to court. The items can be returned to the owners only after the court is convinced of authenticity of the claims.

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