The Railway Police on Wednesday arrested 26-year-old man, a member of the gang that was allegedly involved in stealing mobile phones from passengers on Vande Bharat.

The accused has been identified as Suraj Paswan, a native of West Bengal.

Soumyalatha S. K., Superintendent of Police, Railways, said, “49 mobile phones, including 13 iPhones worth ₹28.3 lakh, were recovered from him.” 

Paswan and his associates were residing at a rented house in Marathahalli. He was one among the five members recruited by a kingpin, who put together this gang that was targeting passengers carrying expensive phones in Vande Bharat, Ms. Soumyalatha said.

Following a series of mobile phone theft cases, the Superintendent of Police formed a special team who kept a watch before zeroing in on Paswan.

The team nabbed him at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna City Railway Station and recovered from him an expensive phone that belonged to a different person. The police launched an inquiry, and Paswan reportedly confessed to the crime.

Efforts are on to track down the kingpin and other members of the gang, Ms. Soumayalatha said, adding that the accused were hired by the kingpin from his home town.