In a swift operation, the Aligarh police on Monday returned a stolen iPhone 16 Pro Max to Australian cricket influencer and content creator Jake Jackings, weeks after it went missing during the IPL final in Ahmedabad.
The smartphone was stolen on May 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium during the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT), which RCB won. After initially tagging the Ahmedabad and Rajasthan police on social media platform X, Jackings posted a breakthrough on June 2, revealing that the phone’s live location was tracked to Aligarh’s Rorawar area.
Taking cognisance of the viral social media appeal, Aligarh SSP Neeraj Jadaun deployed the district’s surveillance cell. A team led by Sub-Inspector Abhishek Gautam traced the device to a mobile repair shop in the Shahjamal area.
An unidentified suspect had brought the phone to the shop to repair a broken back panel and bypass the security lock. While the suspect provided a fake phone number to the shop owner, investigators are currently using the merchant’s description to track him down.
“The phone has been handed over to its rightful owner. Efforts are underway to identify and arrest the person who brought it to the shop to connect the chain of how it traveled from Ahmedabad to Aligarh,” said SSP Neeraj Kumar Jadaun.
Jackings visited the police headquarters to collect his device and praised the team’s professionalism and the emotional impact of the recovery. “Absolutely amazing service. This phone has my photos of my late grandad, memories from my high school ball, and memories of my pets who are no longer here,” Jackings said.
