Narayanguda police arrested a laptop thief and a receiver and recovered 19 stolen laptops worth ₹7.6 lakh linked to 16 theft cases across Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri Commissionerates.

The accused, Sangishetty Vineeth, 29, of New Ashok Nagar, Secunderabad, and receiver Vemunuri Srinivas, 29, of Warasiguda, were arrested by the Narayanguda police.

Police said Vineeth targeted unattended laptops in study halls, particularly during lunch and dinner breaks. He would steal them before selling them to Srinivas, described by police as a habitual receiver of stolen property.

The duo were involved in laptop thefts in the Narayanguda limits, including near KMIT College and the Telugu Academy area, within a span of two days. Police used CCTV footage and technical evidence to identify and apprehend Vineeth.

The recovered laptops include seven Dell, six HP, three Lenovo, two Acer and one Asus laptop, with a total value of ₹7.6 lakh.

Police said the investigation linked the accused to 16 cases registered across the three commissionerates. These include cases at Saifabad, Malakpet, Narayanguda, Abids, SR Nagar and Nallakunta in Hyderabad, Chaitanyapuri, Kushaiguda, Uppal, LB Nagar and Alwal in Malkajgiri, and Kukatpally in Cyberabad.

The case that led to the investigation was registered after a complaint from V. Suresh, who told police that he had left his HP laptop at his cabin at Bright Minds Study Hall on August 16 while going to the hostel for food. When he returned about an hour later, the laptop was missing.

Police said further investigation was under way into the stolen laptop network.