Seven Arrested, Including Three Serving Army Personnel, in Madras Regiment Armoury Theft Probe

Madras Regiment armoury theft probe widens as seven more are arrested

Three serving Army personnel were among seven people arrested in the investigation into the theft of firearms from the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment armoury at Bolarum, with police saying the weapons were intended for robberies targeting banks, jewellery shops and wealthy individuals.

The fresh arrests have taken the number of accused in custody to eight, Malkajgiri Commissioner of Police B. Sumathi said on Saturday, October 3. The seven arrested were produced before a local court and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.

The arrests have brought serving personnel, a former soldier, civilians and alleged arms-market contacts into the same investigation. The wider conspiracy emerged while prime accused Upputholla Mallesh alias Raju was being questioned in police custody between September 22 and October 1.

Three serving personnel named in case

The serving personnel have been identified as Konduri Sheshulu, Vinod Kumar and Kucharakanti Praveen.

Sheshulu, 36, is a Sepoy of the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, and a native of Markapuram in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. Vinod Kumar, 34, is a Naik and Kote, or arms store, employee of the same battalion and is also from Markapuram.

Praveen, 37, is a Havildar of the 16 Battalion, Madras Regiment, and is from Gundlapottapalli in Mahabubnagar district.

Police allege that the three knew about the plan, provided details about the Kote, guard positions and sentry duties, and helped break open the locks of the Kote and magazine. The allegations concern personnel who had served with Mallesh in the Madras Regiment.

The four civilians arrested along with them are Avi Dey alias Obi, Birbal Shaw, Upputholla Mallikarjun and Chemmakar Niranjan.

Dey, 32, is from Barrackpore in West Bengal, while Shaw, 27, runs a sugarcane-juice stall near Barrackpore Cantonment. Mallikarjun, 39, is a mason and Mallesh’s cousin from Padara in Nagarkurnool district. Niranjan, 39, is a general-store owner, Mallesh’s friend and a resident of Padara.

Police outline alleged robbery plan

Commissioner Sumathi said Mallesh faced financial strain after leaving service and had planned large property offences with Mallikarjun and Niranjan. The Hindu reported that investigators also cited a grudge against superiors and a penchant for “quick money” as factors that led him to consider armed robberies.

Police said Mallesh shared bank-robbery videos with Mallikarjun and Niranjan and asked them to study how such heists were carried out. Investigators said he had built a network involving serving Army personnel, prospective robbers and alleged arms dealers before the theft.

The intended targets, according to police, included banks and jewellery shops. Police also said the group planned to use firearms to extort money from wealthy persons.

The investigation has found no terrorist or extremist links, Commissioner Sumathi said. She said the motive was the commission of major property offences.

The alleged plan changed after attempts to buy pistols through contacts in West Bengal stalled. Mallesh then decided to steal arms from his former unit and contacted Sheshulu, Vinod Kumar and Praveen.

The connection with the West Bengal accused dates to 2022, when the 20 Battalion was posted at Barrackpore. Through Shaw, Mallesh bought a country-made firearm, or tapancha, and one live round from Dey for ₹10,000.

That firearm was later recovered from Mallesh’s father’s house at Sai Nagar Colony, Achampet, on September 23. Police said the weapon had not been used in any offence.

Theft discovered after locks were forced

The break-in was discovered on August 31, when personnel of the 20 Battalion found that the locks of the Kote and magazine had been forced. The theft has been placed on the night of August 30 and the early hours of August 31.

The unit’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mayank Govitirkar, lodged a complaint the same evening at Bollarum police station.

The Hindu reported that Mallesh had conducted several reconnaissance visits before the theft. Investigators said he knew that the unit’s CCTV cameras were under repair.

Police also said Mallesh called Praveen around midnight after the theft and told him that the work was done. The account has placed the serving personnel’s alleged role within the preparation and execution of the break-in, according to the police investigation.

Recovered weapons and ammunition

The stolen cache has since been recovered. It comprised four AK-203 rifles with five magazines, one INSAS rifle with three magazines and six 9 mm pistols with 12 magazines.

The recovered items also included one 6.35-bore civilian pistol with a magazine and three binoculars. The ammunition comprised 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 locations linked to Mallesh, including his father’s residence at Achampet in Nagarkurnool.

After the Bolarum theft, Dey allegedly agreed to buy the stolen Army weapons. He offered ₹3 lakh for each pistol and ₹5 lakh for each long weapon, with a separate payment for ammunition, police said.

Shaw is alleged to have acted as the broker in that proposed transaction. Dey already has an Arms Act case pending before the Second Judicial Magistrate’s Court at Barrackpore in connection with Khardah police station.

Mallesh’s service and the case

Mallesh, 37, is a retired Havildar of the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment. He was arrested on September 11 and is lodged in Chanchalguda Central Jail.

He is a native of Udumelli village in Padara mandal, Nagarkurnool. Mallesh left the Army on June 30, 2026.

The police said the wider conspiracy came to light during his custody from September 22 to October 1. The sequence described by investigators runs from the alleged planning of property offences and attempts to obtain pistols to the theft from the former unit’s armoury and the proposed sale of the stolen weapons.

The case is 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. It also includes Sections 25(1AA), 25(1)(A) and 25(1)(B) of the Arms Act, 1959.

The investigation is continuing.