Pabitra Banerjee : Telangana Police have arrested a former army havildar in connection with the major theft of weapons and ammunition from the armoury of the 20th Battalion of the Madras Regiment at the Secunderabad Cantonment.
The accused has been identified as 37-year-old Upputholla Mallesh, a resident of Nagarkurnool district who served in the Indian Army for 16 years. According to Telangana Director General of Police C.V. Anand, Mallesh was forced to retire from service on June 30 due to health issues and disciplinary charges. Investigators believe the main motive behind the break-in was deep anger over his early retirement.
The incident took place on the night of August 30 and 31, coming to light when locks at the battalion storehouse were found broken. Using his knowledge of the military camp’s layout, the suspect entered the premises on a two-wheeler. Because he was a familiar face, guards at the gate did not suspect him right away.
Following nearly two weeks of investigation since the late August break-in, police finally tracked down and caught the suspect, successfully recovering all of the stolen items. The recovered cache includes four AK-203 assault rifles, one 5.56 mm INSAS rifle, six 9 mm pistols, a civilian 6.35-bore pistol, a night-vision binocular, and over 1,800 rounds of mixed bullets along with multiple magazines.
The breakthrough came after a detailed joint investigation by local police, the Hyderabad Task Force, and Military Intelligence, which checked technical evidence and tracked the suspect’s movements. While authorities looked into potential angles involving criminal gangs or other groups, officials confirmed that no international or terrorist links have been found so far.
The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the law for house-breaking and theft of public property, and was produced before a local court.
