It takes a Village

I lost my AirPods at Hyderabad airport. The entire police outpost team at RGIA got them back in two days.

Airway travel has become a routine for me. It is part of my job description as a journalist, and after enough years of it, you build habits. I am adept at packing and unpacking. I have a system to go through security checks and I follow it every time, mostly without thinking about it. This time was an anomaly.

I was flying to Vizag for a product launch. Somewhere in that routine at the boarding gate, my AirPods Pro left me. I did not notice at the time. The notification came through on my phone telling me they were no longer with me, and by then I was already on the plane. The doors had shut. There was nothing I could do to go back. That was the frustrating part, that the notification had not come sooner. A few minutes earlier and I would have simply turned around and picked them up.

They were worth INR 26,000, but that was not what I was thinking about as the plane took off. They were a gift from my brother. They were more than just an electronic item to me, and that hurt me more than losing an item.

I opened Find My and watched them from my seat. The item was still sitting at the airport while I flew away from it, and I saw the distance increase with every passing minute. I was convinced I was never seeing them again. It was devastating.

Part of me hoped someone would hand them in to lost and found. But my faith in humanity was holding on by a thin string. The stronger feeling was that they had been stolen and that was the end of it.

From Vizag, I called the airport lost and found department and I emailed them as well. They checked and told me nothing matching my item had been returned to them. They suggested I include the security team in the mail I had already sent to them, so I did that. By then, the item had moved on Find My. It was no longer at the airport. Someone had taken it home.

I went back to the airport the next day to file a complaint.

At the time, I did not know the airport had a police outpost. I have travelled that way many times, more times than I can count, and I had never once noticed it. It is on the lower ground floor and it is tucked in a corner. I was directed there by the airport security team.

I should be honest about why I went at all. At that point, the complaint was more of a formality for me. I did not really think it would lead anywhere. It was me trying to take control back, to feel empowered after being robbed of it. I wanted to have done something.

The officer at the reception heard me and guided me to another cop who knew about such incidents. That cop was realistic with me. He said the chances of recovering the item were slim. He did not pretend otherwise. But he still guided me to his superior so I could file the complaint.

His superior was the one who reassured me. He told me to write it down, explained the format, and said they would do their best. That changed how I felt about being there.

The complaint was a single signed letter in a specified format. My identifying details, my address, and the details of the stolen item. They also asked me what clothes I had been wearing, so they could identify me on their CCTV footage and work backwards from there. I gave them the item description, the serial number and the GPS data from Find My.

They entered my details into their system right away. I received a notification of the petition immediately, and then an acknowledgement form stating that my complaint was registered. They made sure I was aware of every step I performed. Nothing happened without them explaining it to me first.

Language was never a problem. They spoke English, Hindi and Telugu.

After that they kept in constant touch with me about the progress of the search.

The investigation team called me the very next day. They said the item had been identified at a location and asked if I could come in and travel with a constable to the area.

I went. The constable travelled with me in my cab, and I was worried the whole way there. I was expecting a fight or aggression, or some kind of escalation, or a rough scene. He was very reassuring about all of it.

We followed the guidance from the GPS together and reached the location. Once it was confirmed that the item was there, he shielded me and approached the party himself. I stayed back.

He spoke to them authoritatively while still being calm and collected. There was no shouting. The whole thing was calm and calculated, which was the opposite of everything I had imagined on the way there.

I had my brother's gift back in my hands. Two days after I walked into that outpost with a complaint I thought was only a formality.

Why I withdrew the complaint - This is the part that is not simple.

The person who had taken the item was the wife of a man who worked at the airport. She had picked it up and taken it home. They were poor and living in a shack. The constable did not arrest anyone. He excused the man, warned him, and asked them both to come and meet him at the airport.

I returned to the airport and withdrew my complaint because I had recovered my item. The police at the reception guided me through the withdrawal process the same way they had guided me through filing it. Nobody made me feel like I was wasting their time.

I want to be clear that this was not a principled decision. It was relief. Getting the item back made me generous enough not to want to press charges or get vindictive. If it had ended differently I do not know that I would feel the same way. They had made a mistake, and I think the fear of reprisal is what will stop them from making it again.

It was a team effort - No one person did this.

The lost and found team confirmed the item had not been handed in and told me to loop in security. The airport security team directed me to an outpost I did not know existed. The officer at the reception knew where to send me. The cop who knew about such incidents told me the truth about my chances and helped me anyway. His superior told me to file and assured me they would try. The investigation team got back to me within a day. The constable travelled with me and stood in front of me. The police at the reception closed it out.

If any one of them had not done their part, I would not have my AirPods back and there would be nothing here worth writing about.

What I would tell another traveller to note:

• Keep tracking switched on for the GPS data.
• Know your serial number before you need it.
• Call and email lost and found first, and copy the security team if they ask you to.
• The police outpost at RGIA is on the lower ground floor. Ask the security personnel if you cannot find it.
• File the complaint even if you are late and even if you are told the odds are slim.
• Remember what you were wearing. They look for you on the CCTV first, not the thief.

I walked into that police station only to feel a little less helpless. I walked out two days later with my item, and with rather more faith than I went in with.

With thanks to the airport lost and found team and everyone at the RGIA Police Station outpost.