The case came to light on August 31, when Army personnel at the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, Bollaram, found that the locks of the Kote (arms store) and Magazine had been broken

Published on: Oct 3, 2026, 19:04:51 IST

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The Telangana police on Saturday arrested seven more persons, including three serving Army personnel, in connection with the theft of firearms and ammunition from the Army’s 20 Battalion of the Madras Regiment at Bollaram in Secunderabad Cantonment in the early hours of August 31.

Malkajgiri police commissioner B Sumathi said that while the prime accused, Upputholla Mallesh alias Raju (37), a retired havildar of the battalion and a native of Udumelli village, Padara mandal, Nagarkurnool, was arrested on September 11, the remaining seven were arrested on Saturday.

The arrested are identified as: Konduri Sheshulu (A2), 36, a sepoy, and Vinod Kumar (A3), 34, a jawan, both natives of Markapuram district in Andhra Pradesh; Kucharakanthi Praveen (A4), 37, a havildar and native of Gundlapottapalli, Rajapur, Mahabubnagar; Avi Dey alias Obi (A5), 32, a resident of Barrackpore, West Bengal; Birbal Shaw (A6), 27, who runs a sugarcane juice centre near Barrackpore Cantonment; Upputholla Mallikarjun (A7), 39, a mason; and Chemmakar Niranjan (A8), 39, a general store owner, both from Padara, Nagarkurnool.

“All these seven accused were produced before the local court, which sent them to 14-day judicial remand,” the police commissioner said.

Sumathi said the accused allegedly planned to use the stolen weapons to carry out robberies targeting banks, jewellery shops and wealthy individuals. “The investigation has revealed that there are no terrorist or extremist links to the accused. They had stolen the weapons with the intention of committing major property offences,” she said.

The case came to light on August 31, when Army personnel at the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, Bollaram, found that the locks of the Kote (arms store) and Magazine had been broken.

Based on a complaint filed by battalion commanding officer Lt Col Mayank Govitirkar with the Bollaram police on the same evening, stating that several sophisticated firearms and a large quantity of ammunition were missing, the police launched an investigation.

The stolen weapons included four AK-203 rifles with five magazines, one INSAS rifle with three magazines, six 9 mm pistols with 12 magazines, one 6.35-bore civilian pistol with a magazine, three binoculars, 1,156 rounds of 9 mm pistol ammunition, 720 rounds of AK-203 ammunition and 36 INSAS rounds.

The investigation led the police to arrest Mallesh on September 11. The police recovered the stolen weapons and ammunition concealed at his father’s residence in Sai Nagar Colony, Achampet. He was subsequently produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.

Police later obtained custody of Mallesh for 10 days, from September 22 to October 1, for further interrogation. It was during this period that investigators allegedly uncovered the larger conspiracy behind the theft, the police commissioner said.

According to the police investigation, Mallesh allegedly hatched a plan with his cousin Upputholla Mallikarjun (A7) and friend Chemmakar Niranjan (A8), who were reportedly facing financial difficulties.

“The trio allegedly planned to commit robberies targeting banks, jewellery shops and wealthy individuals and intended to use firearms during the crimes to make substantial amounts of money,” she said.

The investigation further revealed that Mallesh allegedly approached two persons in West Bengal, Avi Dey alias Obi (A5) and Birbal Shaw (A6), with whom he had previous contact.

“Obi agreed to purchase stolen Army firearms, allegedly offering ₹3 lakh for each pistol and ₹5 lakh for each long weapon, besides agreeing to pay for the ammunition,” Sumathi said.

She said Mallesh allegedly enlisted the assistance of three of his former colleagues from the Madras Regiment, Sheshulu (A2), Vinod Kumar (A3) and Praveen (A4). With their help, Mallesh broke open the locks of the Kote and Magazine and removed the firearms and ammunition.

Sumathi said the investigation also uncovered an earlier link between Mallesh and the West Bengal-based accused. “In 2022, Mallesh was posted at Barrackpore, Kolkata, where he became acquainted with Birbal Shaw, who operated a sugarcane juice centre near the Army unit. Through Shaw, he allegedly came into contact with Avi Dey alias Obi and purchased a country-made firearm (tapancha) and one live round for ₹10,000,” she said.

The police suspected that the weapon was allegedly intended for use in extorting money from local residents, passers-by and unidentified persons, although police said it was not used in any offence.

“The firearm was allegedly kept concealed on the first floor of his father’s house at Sai Nagar Colony, Achampet. Police recovered it during a seizure on September 23,” she said.

Avi Dey alias Obi was also previously involved in an Arms Act case registered at Khardah Police Station in West Bengal under section 25(1)(B)(a) of the Arms Act. The case is pending before the Second Judicial Magistrate Court, Barrackpore, Sumathi said.

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