Telangana Police Arrest Eight in Madras Regiment Arms Heist

Editorial Deep Dive & Context

The Telangana police have arrested eight individuals, including three serving soldiers from the 20 Battalion of the Madras Regiment, in connection with a major arms theft at the Bollaram Secunderabad Cantonment. The incident was discovered on August 31 when army personnel found broken locks on the Kote (arms store) and Magazine. The stolen cache included four AK-203 rifles, one INSAS rifle, six 9mm pistols, one civilian pistol, three binoculars, and nearly 1,900 rounds of ammunition. Prime accused Upputholla Mallesh alias Raju, a retired havildar, was arrested on September 11, leading to the recovery of the weapons concealed at his father's residence in Achampet. Police Commissioner B Sumathi stated that the conspiracy involved Mallesh enlisting former colleagues Sheshulu, Vinod Kumar, and Praveen to breach security. The group allegedly planned to use the weapons for robberies targeting banks and wealthy individuals, with no terrorist links identified. West Bengal residents Avi Dey alias Obi and Birbal Shaw were also arrested; they had previously facilitated Mallesh's purchase of illegal firearms. All accused are currently under judicial remand

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