Hyderabad: The Telangana Police have arrested a former Indian Army havildar in connection with the theft of assault rifles, pistols and ammunition from the Secunderabad Cantonment in August.
This was announced by state director general of police C V Anand. All the stolen items have been recovered, he said.
The arrested ex-serviceman has been identified as Upputhalla Mallesh (37), a resident of Nagarkurnool district. Investigation so far has revealed that he was the only one responsible for the crime, as reported by News18.
The havildar served with the 20 Battalion of the Madras Regiment and was prematurely retired from the Army on June 30 this year over indiscipline and health-related issues.
He allegedly returned to the camp on the intervening night of August 30/31 and took away the weapons and ammunition. He then stored them at his residence in Achampet, Anand said.
“We are still looking into the motive for the theft. An in-depth investigation will be carried out”, the DGP said.
While the exact details are being looked into, the police suspect that Mallesh may have been driven by resentment over his premature retirement.
The recovered cache included four AK-203 assault rifles, an INSAS rifle and seven pistols – six of them of 9-mm calibre. The police also found the magazines of the weapons, a passive night-vision binocular, 1,156 rounds of 9-mm ammunition and 720 rounds of AK-203 ammunition.
Investigation has revealed that Mallesh joined the Army in 2010 and served for 16 years before his premature retirement this year.
The theft came to light on August 31 when personnel opened the ‘Kote and Battalion Magazine’, the ammunition storage facility, and found its locks broken.
A case was subsequently registered at Bollarum police station, with Military Intelligence, Malkajgiri Commissionerate police, the Intelligence department, Hyderabad Police’s Task Force and other agencies joining the investigation.
The initial assessment pointed towards an insider being involved, as access to the facility was tightly restricted.
The two personnel responsible for the arms and ammunition storage were the first to be questioned. After the initial questioning failed to yield significant leads, investigators expanded their scrutiny to personnel who had gone on leave as well as those who had recently retired.
The intelligence wing and other agencies also analysed 8.5 lakh mobile numbers as part of the probe.
The police widened the probe to possible links with the drug mafia, espionage and other threats to national security, after the initial investigation failing to produce a breakthrough, Anand said.
After a week of analysis, investigators narrowed their focus to two recently retired personnel – a havildar from Andhra Pradesh and Mallesh.
According to Anand, the first suspect was questioned and cleared after checks, but Mallesh’s conduct and movements raised further suspicion.
Investigators found that Mallesh had been moving suspiciously between August 27 and the day of the theft. Police also determined that he had conducted a recce of the area between August 27 and 29.
Mallesh was questioned at a police station in Nagarkurnool on August 7. Police subsequently asked him to appear again on August 8 and 9, but he failed to do so, further deepening suspicion.
While examining his mobile phone during the investigation, the police found that he had deleted his chats and call records.
Mallesh reached the Army facility on a two-wheeler at around 11 pm on August 30. He broke the locks, removed the weapons and ammunition and later returned to collect the covers of the magazines, the DGP said.
He knew the area well and allegedly exploited the darkness around the facility and the fact that the CCTV system was not functioning at the time.
When a security guard questioned him about where he was going, Mallesh replied, “Madras Regiment (20th Battalion)”, Anand said.
The ex-serviceman subsequently loaded the stolen weapons and ammunition into his car and drove towards Achampet. Police said he avoided the main road toll gates before taking the cache to his residence.
The stolen items were recovered from the house on September 10.
Mallesh confessed to his family about the theft on September 10 while he was being taken to the Hyderabad Task Force office, the DGP said.
The recovery brought relief to investigators, who had spent 10 days examining whether the stolen weapons could have reached terrorist networks, foreign countries or espionage channels.
“There were issues involved such as where the weapons reached, whether they reached any foreign countries, whether they got into spy network, or fell into the hands of terrorist elements. It is a relief to all that the case was detected, without any threat to internal security. The military officers also thanked us. They (Army) are preparing a full-fledged report on how and why it happened,” Anand said.
The investigation had so far found no evidence of an international connection, espionage or an attempt to sell the weapons, the DGP said.
The police are now examining whether Mallesh acted alone or had assistance from others.