Telangana Police have arrested seven more people, including three serving Army personnel, in connection with the theft of firearms and ammunition from the 20 Battalion of the Madras Regiment at Bollaram in Secunderabad Cantonment. The arrests were made on Saturday as investigators expanded their probe into the August 31 theft. Police said the latest arrests include two serving soldiers, a havildar and four civilians, while the prime accused, a retired Army havildar, had been arrested earlier. The case has raised questions about how weapons and ammunition were removed from a restricted military storage facility.

The case came to light on August 31 after Army personnel discovered that the locks of the Kote, or arms store, and the Magazine had been broken. A complaint filed by the battalion's commanding officer led to a police investigation after several firearms and a large quantity of ammunition were found missing. According to the police, the stolen cache included four AK-203 rifles with five magazines, one INSAS rifle with three magazines, six 9 mm pistols with 12 magazines, a 6.35-bore civilian pistol and three binoculars. Investigators also found that 1,156 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, 720 rounds for AK-203 rifles and 36 INSAS rounds were missing.

Police Commissioner B Sumathi said the prime accused, Upputholla Mallesh alias Raju, 37, a retired havildar of the battalion, was arrested on September 11. The seven people arrested subsequently have been identified as serving personnel Konduri Sheshulu, a sepoy; Vinod Kumar, a jawan; and Kucharakanthi Praveen, a havildar. The other accused are Avi Dey alias Obi and Birbal Shaw, both from West Bengal, along with Upputholla Mallikarjun, a mason, and Chemmakar Niranjan, a general store owner. Police said Mallesh allegedly enlisted the help of his former colleagues to break open the locks and remove the weapons and ammunition from the Army facility.

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According to the police investigation, Mallesh allegedly planned to use the stolen weapons in robberies targeting banks, jewellery shops and wealthy individuals. Investigators also alleged that he had contacted two people in West Bengal regarding the sale of the stolen firearms. Police said Dey had allegedly agreed to purchase the weapons, offering ₹3 lakh for each pistol and ₹5 lakh for each long weapon, in addition to payment for ammunition. The authorities said the investigation so far had found no terrorist or extremist links to the accused and that the alleged objective was to commit major property offences. These claims form part of the ongoing police investigation and will be subject to further legal proceedings.

Police said the investigation widened after Mallesh was taken into custody for further questioning between September 22 and October 1. During the investigation, officers allegedly uncovered links between Mallesh and the two West Bengal-based accused. According to Commissioner Sumathi, Mallesh had been posted in Barrackpore, Kolkata, in 2022, where he became acquainted with Shaw, who operated a sugarcane juice centre near an Army unit. Police alleged that Shaw subsequently introduced him to Dey. Investigators also linked Mallesh to an earlier incident involving the purchase of a country-made firearm and a live round, which police said had been recovered from his father's house in Achampet.

The stolen Army weapons and ammunition were recovered during the investigation, with police previously finding the cache concealed at Mallesh's father's residence in Sai Nagar Colony, Achampet. The latest arrests provide investigators with additional suspects who allegedly helped facilitate the theft or were connected to its intended use. Authorities are continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the breach of the restricted arms facility, the alleged involvement of serving personnel and the links with people outside Telangana. The case remains under investigation, and police have said further findings will determine the precise roles and charges against the accused.

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