Military Intelligence Joins Probe Into Madras Regiment Armoury Theft in Secunderabad; Agniveers Cleared
Military Intelligence has joined the investigation into the theft of service weapons and ammunition from the armoury of the 20th Battalion, The Madras Regiment, at Bollarum in Secunderabad Cantonment, as the case widens into a major security breach inside a restricted military establishment, The Hindu has reported.
Investigators have now reportedly ruled out the involvement of Agniveer personnel who were questioned in the early phase of the probe, shifting attention toward those who had authorised access to the secured storage areas. Officials are also examining whether more than one person was involved in removing the weapons from the premises.
The theft is believed to have taken place during the intervening night of August 30 and 31. The breach was discovered at about 7.50 a.m. on August 31, when personnel opened the Kote and Battalion Magazine and found that the locks on the premises, as well as those securing weapon and ammunition boxes, had been forcibly broken.
The weapons and ammunition had last been physically checked around 6 p.m. on August 30, before the storage facility was shut for the night. That narrow window between the last verification and the discovery of the theft has become central to the investigation.
According to the complaint filed by a Lieutenant Colonel of 20 Madras and the FIR registered at Bollarum police station, the missing cache includes four 7.62×39 mm AK-203 assault rifles, one 5.56 mm INSAS 1B1 rifle, six 9 mm Auto 1A pistols and one 6.35-bore civilian pistol.
Also missing are 21 magazines, one passive night-vision binocular and more than 1,800 rounds of ammunition. Some accounts have put the ammunition count at 1,912 rounds. The value of the stolen military property has been estimated at about ₹15 lakh.
The scale of the theft has raised immediate questions over how the cache was removed from a guarded military compound without detection. Officials have reportedly noted that the ammunition alone weighed around 15 kilograms, while several of the missing rifles were roughly a metre long, making it unlikely that a single individual could have carried everything out unnoticed.
A case has been registered under Sections 331(4) and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with house-breaking and theft from a building used for the custody of property. The Army has pressed for urgent recovery of the missing weapons, citing the danger posed if military firearms and ammunition reach unauthorised hands.
In the first two days after the theft was discovered, four people were reportedly detained for questioning, including personnel recruited under the Agnipath scheme and civilian staff associated with the establishment. Officials said at the time that the questioning was precautionary and that no arrests had been made.
By Wednesday, however, investigators had reportedly cleared the Agniveers who had come under scrutiny. The focus has since moved to personnel with legitimate access to the armoury and ammunition storage areas.
Police and Army investigators are also exploring whether the theft required a coordinated effort. Given the quantity, weight and size of the missing items, officials reportedly believe the operation may have involved more than one person, with the possibility of at least four individuals being considered among the working theories.
The seriousness of the breach has led to the involvement of Military Intelligence. Senior Army officers from Delhi have also reached Secunderabad to review the situation and assist the probe.
Alongside the Army’s internal proceedings, Telangana Police — including officers under the Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate — are conducting the criminal investigation. The state counter-intelligence wing and other agencies are also helping authorities determine whether the weapons are still within the Hyderabad-Secunderabad region or have already been moved out.
The Army has opened both an internal inquiry and a court of inquiry to establish how the weapons disappeared, identify any security lapses and fix responsibility. Sensitive information linked to the case is being kept confidential.
The unit’s circumstances at the time of the theft are also under scrutiny. The main body of the battalion, including its commanding officer, was reportedly away at a field firing area in the desert sector. Only a rear party of about 100 personnel remained at the Bollarum premises to carry out essential duties and maintain security, while the second-in-command, a lieutenant colonel, was in charge at the station.
Investigators are reconstructing movements inside and around the establishment during the crucial hours. Duty rosters, weapon issue and receipt registers, access records, guard deployment details and personnel movements are all being examined.
CCTV footage from military cameras and nearby civilian cameras is also under review. Reports say a camera covering the armoury entrance had been switched off during the night, a detail expected to draw close attention during the inquiry.
The ammunition strongroom is ordinarily accessible only to authorised Army personnel and certain civilian housekeeping staff, and is meant to remain under round-the-clock guard. Investigators are therefore trying to establish how the locks were broken and the cache removed without immediately triggering an alarm or alerting the guard detail.
One line of inquiry is whether the weapons were carried or thrown across the boundary wall, or whether they were hidden somewhere inside the compound first and intended for later removal.
Parts of the rear compound wall are reportedly relatively vulnerable, with civilian houses located immediately outside the military premises. That has prompted investigators to examine possible escape routes and places where the stolen weapons may have been briefly concealed.
Private CCTV footage from near Milkha Singh Ground, which shares a boundary with the unit, has also come under scrutiny. A motorcycle was reportedly seen arriving in the area and leaving at high speed at around 3.48 a.m., but the glare from its headlights prevented investigators from clearly reading the registration number.
Search teams have examined several approaches around the cantonment, including routes through Hanuman Temple, Ammuguda, Tumukunta and Bollarum, as they try to reconstruct possible movements in the early hours of August 31.
Security across parts of Secunderabad Cantonment was tightened after the theft came to light. The affected storage area was sealed immediately, and civilian access through sections of the military establishment was restricted.
Several routes passing through military-controlled areas were temporarily closed to civilian vehicles, while school drop-offs and movement near defence establishments were subjected to additional checks. Cantonment schools were also advised to shift classes online as a precaution.
Facilities that later reopened, including the CSD canteen, have reportedly been allowing entry only to people carrying valid identification. Defence establishments and personnel in the area have also been alerted to maintain heightened vigilance.
As of Wednesday, there had been no official confirmation that the missing rifles, pistols, magazines, binocular or ammunition had been recovered. Investigators continue to search, question personnel and examine forensic, documentary and CCTV evidence.
An update from Army Headquarters in New Delhi is expected as the probe advances. Senior officers and those responsible for armoury access, guard duties and unit security arrangements are likely to face further scrutiny once investigators determine exactly how the breach occurred and whether procedural or individual lapses enabled the theft.
