Accomplices, a military armoury, a plan to sell guns: Inside Secunderabad arms heist

The retired army man arrested in the Secunderabad arms heist case allegedly had seven accomplices, including three serving army personnel, police have said. Investigators have alleged that the theft was part of a larger plan to rob banks, jewellers and “wealthy people”.

At a press conference Saturday, Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B Sumathi ruled out a terror angle in the case, alleging instead that 37-year-old retired Havildar Upputholla Mallesh alias Raju had “plotted and executed” the heist at the armoury of the 20 Madras Regiment at Bolarum in Secunderabad Cantonment with seven others for “financial reasons”. According to police, he also planned to sell some of the weapons on the black market.

The revelations come a month after the theft of 12 military-grade weapons and over 1,900 rounds of ammunition, all of which the Telangana Police later said they had recovered. The stolen weapons included four AK-203 assault rifles, seven pistols and an INSAS rifle. Mallesh was arrested on September 11. At the time, police had said they suspected he had acted alone.

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At Saturday’s press conference, police announced the arrest of seven people in connection with the case. “They will be produced before the magistrate soon,” Sumathi said. “The eight-member team also intended to sell some of the weapons in the black market, for prices ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.”

Police said the others arrested are 36-year-old Konduri Sheshulu, a Sepoy; 34-year-old Vinod Kumar, a Naik; and 37-year-old Kucharakanthi Praveen, a Havildar — all serving army personnel. Sheshulu and Vinod Kumar are from Markapuram in Andhra Pradesh, while Praveen is from Gundlapotlapally in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana.

The four civilians arrested in the case, according to police, are 32-year-old Avi Dey alias Obi of Barrackpore, West Bengal; 27-year-old Birbal Shaw, who ran a sugarcane juice shop near Barrackpore Cantonment; Mallesh’s 39-year-old cousin Upputholla Mallikarjun, a mason from Padara in Nagarkurnool district; and 39-year-old Chemmakar Niranjan, a kirana shop owner from Nagarkurnool.

According to police, Mallesh was facing financial difficulties and allegedly involved his cousin Mallikarjun and friend Niranjan, who police said had similar financial problems.

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“He had received Rs 22 lakh as retirement benefits, which he partly used to build a house and buy a car. He faced financial difficulties and felt that robbery and extortion could be the way out,” Sumathi said.

Police said Mallesh had met Dey and Shaw when he was posted in Barrackpore in 2022 and had allegedly purchased a country-made firearm and one live round of ammunition from the former.

“In the recent past, he reached out to his friends Sheshulu, Vinod Kumar and Praveen, and they extended support for the theft. Once the deal was brokered, Mallesh contacted Dey and Shaw, who informed him that some of the weapons could also be sold in the black market — for Rs 3 lakh for pistols and Rs 5 lakh for rifles,” Sumathi said.

Police alleged that Mallesh broke the armoury lock and magazine with the help of the three other army personnel.

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Police also claimed that Mallesh had a previous criminal record, citing a “history of extortion and house burglary in Nagarkurnool district”.

“The proceeds of these burglaries were also kept at his father’s residence in Achampet. We have also recovered the country-made weapon he purchased from Dey,” Sumathi said.

The police will soon take custody of the other accused. “Our investigation into the heist will continue once we get custody of the other accused for interrogation,” Sumathi said.

The police, however, said they had found no terrorist or extremist links in the case. “No such links have been established. The motive of the crime was to amass wealth,” Sumathi said.