In a Diwali 2025 gesture, Mumbai Police returned 800 stolen mobile phones to their rightful owners. The department called it a “special Diwali return gift”.
The initiative was led by Deputy Commissioner Sameer Shaikh under the guidance of Additional Commissioner Dr Mahesh Patil. A special ceremony was organised across Zone 6 stations, where officers personally handed back the recovered phones.
“Ringing happiness in the lives of Mumbaikars, DCP Zone 6 as part of a dedicated campaign to trace and return lost and stolen goods, handed over recovered valuables to their rightful owners today,” Mumbai Police wrote on social media while sharing pics from the event.
“In a special ceremony 800 mobile phones recovered by police stations under the jurisdiction of Zone 6 were returned to their owners,” Mumbai Police added.
Social media posted mixed reaction. Many users called it “heartwarming”.
“DCP zone 6 Sameer Shaikh sir and team, superb work,” wrote one of them.
“Salute to our brave heroes,” commented another.
Another user posted, “Sameer Shaikh Sir, one of the best DCP for zone 6, honest and sincere.”
“Salute, Mumbai police,” came from another.
At the same time, others wondered why Mumbai Police had waited for Diwali 2025 to return the mobile phones
“So, if I lose my phone, I’ll have to wait until Diwali for the police to finally do their job once in a while,” reacted one user.
“Humara no. Kab aaega (When will my turn come)?” asked another.
“Why wait for diwali, did they got all the lost phone on Diwali to make this news?” asked one user.
“Thank you for this “return gift” that you are giving our own phones back which were stolen bcz of your incompetency only,” came a sarcastic reaction.
Mumbai Police recovers valuables worth crores
On Diwali 2025, Mumbai Police also revealed that Zone 2 had recovered valuables worth ₹1.10 crore and returned them to the owners.
“On the joyous occasion of Diwali, DCP Zone 2 brought smiles to citizens by returning stolen property worth ₹1.10 crore to their rightful owners,” it wrote on Instagram.
“In a special ceremony held at the Royal Opera House, Mumbai, the police handed over 150 mobile phones, gold jewellery, and cash recovered from various cases across police stations under Zone 2’s jurisdiction,” Mumbai Police added.
Mumbai Police shared details in a post on Diwali 2025. The Grand Valuables Handover Ceremony for Zone 9 and Zone 10 was held on October 18 at the Mukesh Patel Auditorium in Juhu, Vile Parle.
According to the post, Zone 9 returned 347 valuables worth more than ₹3.62 crore. Zone 10 returned 331 valuables worth nearly ₹2.83 crore. The total value of returned items stood at more than ₹6.45 crore.
The interest in “Diwali” soared from October 19 to October 20 on Google India:
