Three Serving Army Soldiers Among Seven More Arrested in Madras Regiment Armoury Theft Case
Three serving Army personnel are among seven more people arrested in the Bolarum armoury theft case, with Hyderabad police saying the stolen weapons were meant to be used in planned robberies targeting banks, jewellery shops and wealthy individuals.
Malkajgiri Commissioner of Police B. Sumathi said on Saturday, October 3, that the latest arrests have raised the total number of accused in custody to eight. The prime accused, Upputholla Mallesh alias Raju, 37, a retired Havildar of the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, was arrested on September 11 and remains in Chanchalguda Central Jail. The seven arrested on Saturday were produced before a local court and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.
The seven arrested
The serving Army personnel arrested in the case are Konduri Sheshulu, 36, a Sepoy of the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, and a native of Markapuram in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district; Vinod Kumar, 34, a Naik and Kote (arms store) employee of the same battalion, also from Markapuram; and Kucharakanti Praveen, 37, a Havildar of the 16 Battalion, Madras Regiment, from Gundlapottapalli in Mahabubnagar district.
The other four arrested are civilians: Avi Dey alias Obi, 32, of Barrackpore in West Bengal; Birbal Shaw, 27, who runs a sugarcane juice stall near Barrackpore Cantonment; Upputholla Mallikarjun, 39, a mason and Mallesh’s cousin from Padara in Nagarkurnool district; and Chemmakar Niranjan, 39, a general-store owner and Mallesh’s friend, also from Padara.
Planned property offences, not a terror link
At a press conference, Commissioner Sumathi said Mallesh, after leaving military service and facing financial pressure, planned large property crimes with Mallikarjun and Niranjan. Investigators found that he had shared bank-robbery videos with the two men and asked them to study how such heists were carried out. Police said the group intended to use firearms to rob banks and jewellery shops and to extort money from wealthy people.
When attempts to procure pistols through contacts in West Bengal did not materialise, Mallesh allegedly decided to steal weapons from his former unit. He then reached out to Sheshulu, Vinod Kumar and Praveen, whom he had served with in the Madras Regiment. Police allege the three were aware of the plan, provided details of the Kote, guard positions and sentry duties, and helped break open the locks of the Kote and magazine. The Hindu reported that Mallesh carried out several reconnaissance visits, knew the unit’s CCTV cameras were under repair, and called Praveen around midnight after the theft to inform him that the job was done.
Commissioner Sumathi said the probe has not found any terrorist or extremist links. According to police, the motive was to commit major property offences.
West Bengal connection and an earlier firearm purchase
Police said Mallesh’s link to the West Bengal accused dates back to 2022, when the 20 Battalion was posted at Barrackpore. Through Shaw, he reportedly bought a country-made firearm, or tapancha, and one live round from Dey for ₹10,000. That weapon was later recovered from his father’s house at Sai Nagar Colony, Achampet, on September 23, and police said it had not been used in any offence.
After the Bolarum theft, Dey allegedly agreed to buy the stolen Army weapons, offering ₹3 lakh for each pistol and ₹5 lakh for each long weapon, apart from separate payment for ammunition. Shaw is said to have acted as the broker. Police said Dey already faces an Arms Act case before the Second Judicial Magistrate’s Court at Barrackpore, originating from Khardah police station.
How the theft was discovered
The break-in came to light on August 31, when personnel of the 20 Battalion found that the locks of the Kote and magazine had been forced open. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mayank Govitirkar, filed a complaint that evening at the Bollarum police station. Police believe the theft took place during the night of August 30 and the early hours of August 31.
The stolen cache, all of which has since been recovered, included four AK-203 rifles with five magazines, one INSAS rifle with three magazines, six 9 mm pistols with 12 magazines, one 6.35-bore civilian pistol with a magazine, three binoculars, 1,156 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, 720 AK-203 rounds and 36 INSAS rounds. Police also seized five mobile phones. The arms and ammunition were recovered from places linked to Mallesh, including his father’s residence in Achampet, Nagarkurnool.
Mallesh, a native of Udumelli village in Padara mandal of Nagarkurnool, left the Army on June 30, 2026. He was questioned in police custody from September 22 to October 1, during which investigators say the wider conspiracy came to light. The case has been registered as Crime No. 207/2026 at Bollarum police station under Sections 331(4), 305, 249, 317(5), 61(2) and 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Sections 25(1AA), 25(1)(A) and 25(1)(B) of the Arms Act, 1959. The investigation is continuing.
