Telangana Police Detain Two Armoury In-Charges Over Secunderabad Army Weapons Theft

Detention of Armoury In-Charges Following Interrogation

Police stated that the two in-charges directly assisted Mallesh in executing the theft from the Bell of Arms at the 20 battalion Madras Regiment’s headquarters located at Bolarum in Secunderabad Cantonment.

Authorities revealed that financial transactions existed between Mallesh and Vinod. Investigators are currently probing these monetary exchanges to confirm their exact connection to the stolen military cache.

A police officer close to the investigation outlined the next procedural steps regarding the detained workers. “While interrogating Mallesh, we learned that Vinod and Seshu, who were in-charges of the armoury, had assisted him in the theft. At least three others are also believed to have helped Mallesh in transporting weapons from the cantonment area to his house,” the officer said. “After ascertaining the facts, we will formally arrest the two people and produce them before the court.”

The Secunderabad Armoury Heist and Disgruntled Retirement

The security breach occurred during the intervening night of August 30 and 31. Mallesh utilized his access to remove a substantial cache of weapons and military ammunition from the regiment’s headquarters. Investigators established that Mallesh served in the Indian Army for 16 years starting in 2010 before the military compulsorily retired him on June 30 due to discipline and health issues. Police reported that the theft stemmed from deep disgruntlement over superiors forcing him into early retirement.

Following the theft, Mallesh transported the weapons across multiple locations. He initially moved the cache to his residence in Kowkoor village of Yapral mandal in Rangareddy district. He later shifted portions of the stash to a second house in his native village of Jangam Reddy Pally, located in Amrabad mandal of Nagarkurnool district.

Arrest, Custody, and Recovery of Stolen Military Hardware

Police arrested Mallesh on September 11. A Hyderabad court subsequently remanded him to ten days of police custody on September 22.

Law enforcement teams recovered a significant inventory of stolen arms and ammunition from Mallesh’s properties in Rangareddy and Nagarkurnool districts. The recovered military equipment includes four AK-203 rifles, one 5.56 mm INSAS rifle, six 9 mm pistols, and a civilian 6.35-bore pistol. Officers also seized 1,156 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, 720 rounds of AK-203 ammunition, INSAS ammunition rounds, magazines, and supplementary equipment. An additional 810 rounds of stolen ammunition were later recovered from a hidden stash in his native village.

To establish the exact mechanics of the crime, police conducted a full scene reconstruction. The exercise aimed to map out how the weapons left the secure military facility and to identify the remaining three suspects believed to have aided in the transportation of the stolen cache.