iPhone theft in India: A woman in northern India has alleged that a person in possession of her stolen iPhone contacted her weeks after the device disappeared and asked for its passcode, adding an unusual digital trail to a theft complaint in the state of Uttarakhand.

Kaushiki Dhyani said her iPhone was among several mobile phones stolen from Clement Town in Dehradun on September 12. She identified one of the other alleged victims as Saksham Negi, the brother of a friend, and said additional phones were also taken in the same area.

Dhyani later publicised the case through her Instagram account, where she alleged that the person who had her phone contacted her directly and demanded the device password. Screenshots accompanying coverage of her account show a message asking for the passcode, followed by Dhyani questioning how the sender had obtained the phone and asking for it to be returned.

Dhyani has also criticised the police response. She said she provided officers with screenshots of the conversation but alleged that no action followed. She further questioned what she described as a lack of police action despite multiple thefts being reported from the locality.

That can create an incentive to obtain a victim’s passcode or other account credentials after a phone has been taken. In Dhyani’s case, however, there is no clue establishing the sender’s motive or what happened to the phone after the exchange.

No police statement, arrest, recovery of the handset or formal investigative update was included in the available reporting as of October 7. The status of any complaint or criminal case also remains unclear.

For readers outside India, Dehradun is the capital of Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state in northern India. Clement Town, where Dhyani says the theft occurred, is part of the Dehradun urban area.

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