Bengaluru: A 43-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh has been arrested by Byappanahalli railway police for a string of thefts, targeting sleeping passengers on moving trains. The accused, identified as M Gunasekhar from Singalagunta in Chittoor district, was stealing laptops and mobile phones and later, selling them in Erode, Tamil Nadu.A complaint filed by Durga VM, a 24-year-old software engineer from Palakkad, Kerala, led to the breakthrough. On May 9, she complained to the police that her bag went missing during the early hours of April 7 from the upper berth of S10 coach of Ernakulam-SMVT Express (train no. 12683). Her bag contained two mobile phones — including an iPhone — her scooter key, a bluetooth neckband, and some cash, vanished.Durga recalled a man attempting to wake her up at KR Pura, claiming it was the last stop, before disappearing from the compartment. Upon calling her phone, she was shocked to find a man answering and demanding money in exchange for the return of her belongings. Believing his assurance, she transferred a small sum, but the demands continued — prompting her to finally file a police complaint.Superintendent of police (railways), SK Soumyalatha said their team worked on available leads and detained Gunasekhar. He confessed to targeting passengers over the last six months and selling stolen goods in Erode. The team travelled to Erode and recovered nine mobile phones and five laptops, valued at around Rs 6 lakh in total.Gunasekhar, a mason and carpenter by trade, began stealing after he once found an unattended laptop on a train. Short on money and driven by addiction, he turned theft into a routine. This is his first arrest and he’s in police custody as the investigations continue.