Three soldiers out of seven others held in Bolarum arms theft case; police say the guns were intended for a series of robberies

The theft of military weapons from the Madras Regiment compound in Bolarum, Secunderabad Cantonment, was allegedly part of a wider conspiracy to rob banks, jewelery shops and wealthy individuals, police said on Saturday (Oct 3, 2026), marking a major twist in the investigation after arrested former Havaldar Upputholla Mallesh initially claimed he acted alone.

Seven other people, including three army personnel, were arrested in the case. Malkajgiri police said 37-year-old Mallesh, a retired Havaldar of the 20th Battalion, Madras Regiment, had allegedly planned the theft with others and was investigating the sale of stolen military weapons to contacts in West Bengal.

Three serving soldiers arrested

The three serving army men arrested are 36-year-old Konduri Sheshulu, Sepoy; 34-year-old Vinod Kumar, Naik, and 37-year-old Kucharakanthi Praveen, Havaldar.

While Sheshulu and Vinod Kumar are from Markapuram in Andhra Pradesh, Praveen is from Gundlapottapalli in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana.

Accused civilians from WB and Telangana

The four accused civilians are 32-year-old Avi Dey alias Obi from Barrackpore in West Bengal, 27-year-old Birbal Shaw, who ran a sugarcane juice center near Barrackpore Cantonment, 39-year-old Malesh’s cousin Upputholla Mallikarjun, a mason from 3-year-old Padolara district in Nagarjan. a kirana shop owner from the same area.

According to B. Sumathi, Malkajgiri Commissioner of Police, Mallesh initially hatched a plan with his cousin Mallikarjun and friend Niranjan – who were facing financial problems – to rob banks, jewelery shops and wealthy individuals. The group allegedly intended to use firearms to carry out the robberies.

“Mallesh initially approached Dey and Shaw to procure firearms. When Dey allegedly sought more time, Mallesh contacted Sheshula, Vinod Kumar and Praveen, personnel he had previously worked with in the Madras Regiment,” the commissioner said.

Ms Sumathi added that the three serving staff extended support for the theft of arms and ammunition. Dey was subsequently asked if he would buy the army’s weapons and reportedly agreed to buy pistols at ₹3,000 each and “long guns” at ₹5,000,000, apart from paying separately for ammunition.

With the alleged help of three army personnel, Mallesh broke open the Kote and Magazine locks and stole arms and ammunition, police said.

The disclosures came during Mallesh’s 10-day police detention from September 22 to October 1 and broadened the scope of the investigation, which initially focused on the former Havaldar.

Connection during Mallesh’s broadcast in Barrackpore

Investigators also traced the alleged arms link to 2022, when Mallesh’s battalion was based in Barrackpore, West Bengal. Police said he met Shaw, who ran a sugarcane juice center near an army unit. Through Shaw, Mallesh allegedly bought a country firearm, locally called ‘thapancha’, and a live cartridge from Dey for ₹10,000.

Mallesh allegedly hid the firearm in his father’s house in Sai Nagar Colony in Achampet. She was found by the police in Malkajgiri on September 23. The police claimed that Mallesh intended to use it to extort money from people but did not use it for the crime.

Dey booked by WB police

Dey was earlier booked under the Arms Act by the Khardah police in West Bengal in 2012 and the case is pending trial in Barrackpore, according to the police.

Mallesh was arrested on 9/11. The military cache found contained four AK-203 rifles with five magazines, an INSAS rifle with three magazines, six 9 mm pistols with 12 magazines, a civilian 6.35 caliber pistol with a magazine and three binoculars. Police also recovered 1,156 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 720 rounds of AK-203 and 36 rounds of INSAS, taking the ammunition load to 1,912 rounds.

Telangana Director General of Police CV Anand along with senior officers inspect arms and ammunition stolen from the compound of 20 Madras Regiment at Bolarum, Secunderabad Cantonment, on display during a press conference in Hyderabad on Friday (September 11, 2026) | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL

The theft was discovered on August 31 after army personnel found broken Kote and Magazine locks at the 20th Battalion premises in Bolarum.

According to the police, Mallesh also has two previous cases of housebreaking, namely at Achampet police station in 2005 and Amrabad police station in 2007.

No terrorist or extremist links were found

The seven newly arrested accused were produced before the court on Saturday for judicial custody. Police said investigations so far have shown the weapons were stolen to commit serious property crimes and that no terrorist or extremist links have been identified.

Published – 03 Oct 2026 14:48 IST