My wife Nishat Jahan’s mobile phone number remained active for at least 90 hours after it was snatched. It would ring whenever we called. The police said the phone was in Sreemangal. But they could not pinpoint where. At times, I was told the phone was not being used; at other times, I was told they did not have the necessary technology.
The incident took place at around 2:30 am on 9 September at Sreemangal Railway Station in Moulvibazar. A man reached through the window of the Dhaka-bound Upaban Express and snatched my wife’s mobile phone.
Within hours of the incident, I gave the police the phone number, model, IMEI number and the time of the snatching. I also filed a general diary (GD) online that same day. Since then, I have spoken to everyone from the investigating officer to the officer-in-charge (OC) of the police station and the district superintendent of police. I received repeated assurances, but the phone was not recovered.
Woke up to her screams
After a three-day trip to Sylhet, we boarded the Upaban Express at 11:30 pm on 8 September for Dhaka. As we had booked our tickets online, we could not get seats next to each other. Nishat was sitting in a window seat, while my seat was at the other end of the carriage.
As the night wore on, I fell asleep. At around 2:30 am, the train stopped at Sreemangal station. Nishat had taken the phone in her left hand to call me to buy some water. Just then, a man reached through the window from the platform and snatched the phone. He put it in his pocket and quickly ran away.
I woke up to Nishat’s screams. I rushed over and saw that the snatcher had already fled with the phone. Other passengers in the carriage also woke up. Some comforted Nishat. Others, however, began blaming her, questioning why she had been holding her phone near the window.
Asked for help, but met with blame
We sought help from the ticket inspectors and police officers on duty on the train. But instead of taking steps to catch the snatcher or immediately alerting someone at the station, they repeatedly focused on Nishat’s lack of caution. Later, we were advised to file a general diary (GD) at Sreemangal police station.
The train reached Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka at around 8:30 am. As soon as we got off, I searched for the number online and called Sreemangal police station’s officer-in-charge (OC), Sarkar Abdullah Al Mamun, to report the incident. I also identified myself as a staff correspondent of Prothom Alo.
The OC then asked for the phone’s model, IMEI number, SIM number, colour and details of its cover, as well as the time of the snatching. He also assured me that he would look into the matter seriously. At around 10:45 am, I sent all the information to the OC on WhatsApp. But I received no further update throughout the day.
GD filed that night, investigating officer assigned next day
After informing a journalist I know and a police officer about the incident, they advised me to file a GD online as soon as possible. After 9:00 pm, I filed the GD online from a shop in front of Kadamtali police station in the capital.
The GD was approved by Sreemangal police station, and Sub-Inspector (SI) Nahidur Rahman was assigned to investigate the case. He called me the following day, Thursday. After hearing what had happened, he assured me that he would take the matter seriously and work on it. I later sent him all the necessary information, including a copy of the GD.
The matter was also brought to the attention of Moulvibazar district Superintendent of Police Md Monirul Islam. In the meantime, I contacted the OC and the investigating officer several more times.
‘The phone is still in Sreemangal’
OC Sarkar Abdullah Al Mamun told me that the phone’s location was showing up in the Sreemangal area. He also claimed that police personnel were working to recover it. Investigating officer Nahidur Rahman also said that the phone was in Sreemangal. But they could not pinpoint exactly where it was.
According to Nahidur, although the phone’s SIM was active, no calls were being made from it and incoming calls were not being answered. That was why they could not determine its exact location. He also advised me to get an e-SIM with the same number.
Yet, at that time, the number was still ringing when we called it. We found that the number remained active for at least 90 hours after the snatching. As late as 8:30 pm on Saturday, calls were still going through to the active number on the phone.
Police waiting for a new SIM
The investigating officer said it would be easier to trace the phone if the snatcher inserted another SIM into it. Nahidur Rahman told Prothom Alo, “If someone uses another SIM in the phone, we can get information about that SIM and its location. If it is not being used, we cannot.”
Nahidur Rahman could not provide a clear explanation as to why the phone’s location could not be traced even though the original SIM was active and calls were going through.
When asked about portable tracking equipment that could follow the signal and help locate the phone, Nahidur Rahman said, “I have no knowledge of portable machines. We have no experience of working that way.”
‘We rely on police headquarters’
On Friday night, I spoke to Moulvibazar district Superintendent of Police Md Monirul Islam about the district police’s technological capabilities for tracing mobile phones.
The police superintendent said the use of technology in an investigation varies depending on the circumstances. If there are no leads at all, mobile phone numbers that were active within the coverage area of towers in the relevant area at the time of the incident are analysed.
Police then try to identify unfamiliar or unusual numbers after excluding those regularly used by local residents. They then investigate the users of those numbers, he added. However, the police superintendent said the district police do not have direct access to such technology and rely on police headquarters.
He also said the Moulvibazar police do not have enough of their own CCTV cameras. If an individual or organisation has cameras, police try to collect footage from them. Alongside this, police investigate with the help of local sources and by looking into known offenders in the area.
‘We are still in the old era’
I also asked the police superintendent whether Moulvibazar district police use portable devices capable of following a phone signal and pinpointing its location. In response, the police superintendent said, “No, we don’t have one. We are actually still stuck in the old era. We don’t have the scope to use such equipment.”
Sreemangal police station OC Sarkar Abdullah Al Mamun also spoke of similar limitations. He said, “We don’t have that device or technology. We obtain the location of the number. Then, once we know the area, we search manually.”
According to the OC, people previously involved in similar crimes in the area are identified with the help of local sources. Police then try to recover the snatched mobile phone by apprehending and screening them.
How the police trace lost phones
To understand how police trace lost and snatched mobile phones, I spoke to seven officers working at different levels of the force. The officers said that when a mobile phone is lost or snatched, the first step is to file a general diary (GD) at the police station, either in person or online. The investigating officer must be given the phone’s IMEI number, the SIM used, the model, and the time and location of the incident.
If another SIM is used in the phone, network data can be used to identify a link between that SIM and the phone’s IMEI number. After using tower data to identify the possible location, police conduct field-level searches using CCTV footage, local sources and by apprehending suspects.
Paltan Model Police Station of Dhaka Metropolitan Police recently drew attention for returning recovered mobile phones to their owners following GDs. On 21 January this year, Paltan police handed over 105 phones recovered from different parts of the country to their owners.
Assistant Police Commissioner of Motijheel Zone Hussain Muhammad Farabi and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Iqbal Hossain of Paltan Model Police Station played active roles in recovering the phones.
I spoke to Iqbal Hossain on Friday night. Sharing his experience of recovering phones, he told Prothom Alo that, based on victim’s GDs, they first formally inform senior officers, including the superintendent of police.
They then use portable SIMs available to senior officers to obtain the call list, location, NID and other relevant information using the IMEI numbers of lost or snatched phones. This allows them to get close to the phones and recover them.
If ASI Iqbal can do this, why are officers at Sreemangal police station unable to recover the phone?
The officers at Sreemangal police station say that although they can identify the possible area, they do not have the technology to pinpoint the phone’s exact location. As a result, the investigation now depends largely on whether the snatcher uses a new SIM or whether a local source provides information.
Thousands of phones lost, stolen or snatched
Police headquarters does not publish figures on the number of mobile phones that are lost, snatched or stolen. However, sources concerned say more than 10,000 mobile phones are lost, stolen or snatched across the country on average every month. Yet, because of uncertainty over recovering their phones and the harassment involved, most people do not go to police stations or courts to report a lost or snatched phone.
Even in cases of snatching or theft, people often file a general diary (GD) describing the incident as a ‘loss’. As a result, there are no accurate figures for how many phones are actually lost, stolen or snatched in the country each year.
The police’s ability to recover phones also varies from place to place. Dhaka Metropolitan Police said they recovered 2,007 phones in July 2026 alone. Yet officers at Sreemangal police station say they do not have the technology to pinpoint a phone’s exact location. However, a senior police officer said that with the right intention, a mobile phone can be recovered within a few hours while its SIM remains active.
There are also examples of differences in police efforts to recover phones. For instance, when a police superintendent’s phone was snatched in a district on 18 October 2024, it was recovered the following day.
In 2022, police recovered Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader’s phone within eight days and arrested five people. In 2021, police also recovered the mobile phone snatched from then-planning minister MA Mannan in Bijoy Sarani in the capital within a few days.
There are also recent examples of swift action to recover the phones of senior officials, in contrast to the long waits faced by general people.
On the night of 7 March 2026, Anti-Corruption Commission Director General Md Motahar Hossain was robbed in Mohammadpur. His two iPhones were snatched. Police recovered both phones and arrested two snatchers within around 25 hours.
In June 2026, Chattogram’s Kotwali police station said that while investigating the theft of a former interim government adviser Faruk-e-Azam’s wife’s iPhone, they uncovered a gang. Five people were arrested in the operation, and 157 phones, including 24 iPhones, along with equipment used to alter IMEI numbers, were recovered.
This raises the question: why are some people’s phones recovered within a day, while thousands of others have to wait for months? Is police action determined by the seriousness of the incident, or do they become more active in recovering a phone based on the victim’s identity and connections?