Kasaragod: A civil police officer posted at Kasaragod's Chandera police station has been booked for trespass and theft after he allegedly sold a mobile phone handed over to the station by a migrant worker who found it on the road.

The accused, Y Baiju (41), a native of Neerchal in Kasaragod's Badiadka panchayat, allegedly made ₹10,000 by selling the Redmi Note 9 Pro to a resident in his village, 60km from the police station. The FIR was registered on Tuesday following a preliminary inquiry by SI Vishnu S Nair on the directions of the Kasaragod district police chief Nidhinraj P.

According to the preliminary report and the FIR, a migrant worker living near the Chandera police station found the Redmi mobile on the road on October 8. He took the phone to the station and handed it over to the police. Civil police officer Baiju, who was on guard duty that day, received it. The receipt of the phone was recorded in the station's general diary and guard duty register.

The police found that the phone belonged to Subadra, a homemaker in Kannur's Ramanthali panchayat, 15km from Chandera station. When contacted, she said she would collect it from the station the following day. However, Subadra did not turn up. About a week later, her son Darshan visited the station to collect the phone. The police then noticed the handset was missing from the drawer where it was kept. The police circulated a message in the WhatsApp group of station personnel, asking anyone who might have moved the phone to return it. When the phone could not be traced, SI Vishnu S Nair began an inquiry.

IMEI check leads police to buyer
With the help of the cyber wing, the police examined the phone's International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. The check revealed that a new SIM card was inserted in it on October 14. Police also found that the phone was pinging off towers in Neerchal and that its new user was Mohammed Aris K, a resident of the same village.

Police summoned Aris to the Chandera police station. He appeared on October 24 and handed over the mobile phone to the police. During questioning, he reportedly told the police that an acquaintance who was a police officer sold him the handset on October 13, five days after the migrant worker handed over the phone at the station. The information that the phone had been sold in Neerchal and that the seller was a police officer attached to the Chandera station narrowed the inquiry to Baiju.

The police checked the guard duty roster and found that Baiju had been on guard duty on October 12, the day on which the phone was stolen. The station's CCTV footage also provided crucial evidence against Baiju.

According to the inquiry report, footage showed him approaching the guard's desk at 2.02 am on October 12 and taking the mobile phone from the drawer. The footage also reportedly showed him removing the SIM card from the handset, breaking it into small pieces and throwing them behind the station.

A subsequent search of the area led to the recovery of two pieces of an Airtel SIM card from behind the station on October 24, the day Arif gave his statement.

The mobile phone, the broken SIM card and the seizure mahazar documenting the recovery were included in the case records.

Based on the detailed report by SI Vishnu Nair, district police chief Nidhinraj directed Chandera Station to book Baiju.

If convicted, he faces up to 14 years in prison under Section 331(4) of the BNS for night-time house-breaking or trespass intended to commit theft. Section 306 prescribes a maximum of seven years for an employee stealing property in their employer’s possession.

Senior police officers said Baiju will be suspended soon over the incident, which has embarrassed the police force.