A former Indian Army Havildar, who was prematurely retired from service in June this year, has been arrested in connection with the theft of weapons, including AK-203 assault rifles, and ammunition from an Army facility in Secunderabad last month.
Telangana DGP C.V. Anand said Upputhalla Mallesh (37) from Nagarkurnool district had served as a Havildar with the 20th Battalion of the Madras Regiment. He was prematurely retired from the Army in June due to indiscipline and poor health.
Mallesh, who police said was the sole accused in the case, was arrested on Friday. The stolen weapons and ammunition were recovered intact from his residence.
The theft took place on the intervening night of August 30 and 31 at a storage facility under the limits of Bollarum police station.
Five assault rifles, seven pistols, 21 magazines, ammunition and a passive night-vision binocular were stolen from the facility.
Following a complaint from a Lieutenant Colonel of the Madras Regiment's 20th Battalion in Secunderabad, Bollarum police registered a case over the theft of service weapons and ammunition.
While police are still investigating the motive, preliminary findings suggest that Mallesh may have carried out the theft because he was disgruntled over his premature retirement from the Army.
"We are still looking at the motive for the theft," Anand said.
Mallesh joined the Indian Army in 2010 and served for 16 years before being retired from service on June 30 this year.
Police apprehended him from his residence in Achampet in Nagarkurnool district, where the stolen weapons and ammunition had been kept.
The recovered weapons included four AK-203 assault rifles, one INSAS rifle and seven pistols, including six 9-mm pistols, along with their magazines.
Police also recovered a passive night-vision binocular, 1,156 rounds of 9-mm ammunition and 720 rounds of AK-203 ammunition.
