Just want to add my 2 cents here. Sad to hear about @kARTechnology 's loss. I would be equally going crazy over this as well. But to the point where cops can't trace laptops and mobile phones - I was also under the same impression for many years until last year when my colleague met with an incident. This happened in Bangalore last year. She basically missed her iPhone5 in an auto. The auto-wala took it, switched off and sold off to some guy who then sold off to a mobile repair shop. All this while, they did not remove her sim card which was active. The shopkeeper switched on once and as my colleague (and her friends) were constantly calling the number for days, it finally rang. They guy answered, blabbered something, realized it was a stolen phone that he had purchased and then removed the sim. Now y'all might think of movie-style cell tower based tracking and stuff at this point. 
That did not happen. She did complain to the local police and of course no action was taken.
She works in Bangalore but her family is from Mumbai and they have some DIG and IAS officers in their family circle in Mumbai. It was a freakin' IP5 and not some X; neither she is a person who can't afford another mobile nor she cares about loss of money... but she (for some reason!) considers that particular phone sentimental so she basically cried like every other girl to her dad. After 15 days, her dad told that he has sent a new phone to our office address and asked her to collect it. When she opened the parcel it was her IP5!!
Here's what had happened in the background. Father calls DIG --> DIG calls some top official in BLR --> Local squad to recover the phone formed --> Police team searched the shops in the entire stretch of the road where she had got down from the auto for CCTV cameras --> Analysed footage ---> Found the auto --> Traced him in Bangalore and apprehended him --> Got to know the middle-man --> Traced him in Bangalore and apprehended him --> Got to know where he sold --> Found the shopkeeper ---> Got to know to whom he sold the phone by the time (random buyer) --> Found him/her and recovered the mobile --> Police packed it and sent to Mumbai --> Father collects from DIG office --> Sends to daughter!!
Best part is - her phone was intact with all her data/photos and she received the original sim which she never deactivated as she kept thinking it may come in handy for tracing.
TL;DR ---- Moral of the story: Anything is possible in India if you have money/contacts. Even to go this extent to trace a damn IP5.
wish i know someone like that in chennai.
nice to hear this story but i think its not going to happen for me. all whom i tell about this they say if you know any higher official then things will happen for sure.
I have posted in twitter all they do is retweet telling look into the matter.
i had password protected my laptop. if i didn't, it would have been easy for the thief to open and connect to internet - which will trigger a notification in my teamviewer that system online, at-least i could have immediately made the display blank, captured a webcam pic, check ip address and immediately turn back the display on. or some sort of stuff...cursing why i had put a password. now the thief will surely format my pc....its offline since 5 days...
common man is helpless. no power with him.
