The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has partnered with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) under the Ministry of Railways to facilitate the recovery of lost and stolen mobile phones in trains. The initiative integrates the Rail Madad app with DoT's Sanchar Saathi platform, allowing passengers to report missing mobile devices. The Rail Madad app is a mobile application developed by Indian Railways to assist passengers in addressing and resolving their complaints or grievances during their train journeys.
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Integration of Rail Madad with Sanchar Saathi
Under this collaboration, complaints registered on the Rail Madad app will be directly imported to the Sanchar Saathi portal to block the stolen device and initiating recovery efforts. According to the Ministry, the onboarding of 17 RPF zones and over 70 divisions of RPF onto the Sanchar Saathi portal has begun, ensuring coverage across India's railway network.
"Mobile Phones constitute a major portion of items lost or misplaced by passengers in trains and at stations. DoT and RPF will work in collaboration for tracing and recovering lost/stolen mobile phones of train passengers. The Rail Madad app is now being interfaced with the DoT's Sanchar Saathi platform," the Ministry of Communications said in a statement on Thursday.
Key Statements from Officials
A training session was conducted for over 250 RPF officers and DoT's LSA field units, familiarising them with the Sanchar Saathi portal and its mobile safety features. Speaking at the event, Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom), emphasised the role of technology in crime prevention.
He said, "With the rapid advancement of technology, the role of digital tools in crime prevention and law enforcement is more critical than ever." He further highlighted that onboarding RPF on Sanchar Saathi portal is a milestone in the journey of protecting the citizens from cyber frauds and misuse of telecom resources.
Director General RPF, Manoj Yadav, reaffirmed RPF’s commitment to passenger security, citing the recovery of items worth Rs 84 crore in the past year under Operation Aamanat.
He further emphasised, "The onboarding of RPF at Sanchar Saathi portal will give an assurance of recovery of the lost/stolen handsets to the citizens."
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Sanchar Saathi Platform
Since its launch, the Sanchar Saathi platform has blocked over 30 lakh mobile devices, traced 18 lakh, and successfully recovered 3.87 lakh handsets, the Ministry said. State police forces in Telangana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka have played a key role in leveraging the platform for mobile recovery.
Passengers are encouraged to report lost or stolen mobile phones through the Sanchar Saathi portal, ensuring swift action and recovery.
Citizens can use the Sanchar Sathi App to report misuse of telecom resources in cybercrime and cyber frauds. The app can be downloaded from the Android or iOS stores.
