Bhopal Top Cop's Phones With Sensitive Data Snatched In High Security Area

In a massive security breach in the heart of Bhopal's ultra-secure Char Imli zone, unidentified bike-borne men snatched two mobile phones from Madhya Pradesh's Inspector General (Intelligence and ATS) Ashish late Tuesday night. The incident occurred around 10 pm, when the 2005-batch IPS officer was taking a post-dinner stroll with his wife.

Sources confirmed that one of the snatched phones contained sensitive and confidential data. Police recovered one device, dumped from the crime scene within 20 minutes. The snatcher likely abandoned it after realizing its advanced security features. But the second phone, believed to contain intelligence inputs, remains unrecovered, sending security agencies into overdrive.

A tracker confirmed its movements before it was switched off near Kolar Guest House.

Crime Branch and personnel from multiple police stations have been pressed into action. "We are working with extreme caution, given the possibility of confidential information being compromised," a senior officer said.

CCTV footage showing three men on a motorcycle has become the central lead in the manhunt. Two of the suspects have already been rounded up for questioning, while the third remains at large.

Investigators are also probing whether the same gang carried out a similar phone-snatching incident in Shivaji Nagar later that night. However, the victim, reportedly a student, did not lodge a police complaint.

Char Imli houses the residences of the state's DGP Kailash Makwana, police commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra, and former home minister Narottam Mishra, among several other cabinet ministers and IAS-IPS officers. That even this VIP enclave is not immune to street criminals has sent shockwaves across the state.

Officials said that the stretch, where the incident occurred, had non-functional streetlights and outdated, often defunct CCTVs. Despite assurances of increased patrols and tech upgrades, residents remain unconvinced. "If an IG can be targeted in front of his own home, what security do ordinary citizens have?" asked a Char Imli resident.

Mobile and chain-snatchings have become routine headlines in Bhopal. The latest episode, however, signals a dangerous escalation: criminals are no longer deterred by the presence of senior officers or high-security zones.