A dismissed military havildar stole twelve weapons and ammunition from an army base
HYDERABAD: After suspecting various angles — including espionage, narcotics and the possibility of weapons reaching an enemy country — Telangana Police found that a dismissed military havildar had stolen 12 weapons, including assault rifles, and ammunition using a motorcycle. Confirming what TOI had reported in its columns that an accused had been arrested and the weapons recovered on Friday, Director General of Police CV Anand said at a press conference that 37-year-old Upputholla Mallesh was arrested and, based on his confession, the weapons were recovered from an open area in Sripuram village in Nagarkurnool district, where dry hay had been used to cover and hide them. After reaching his native place, near his house there is an open area, where he spread the stolen property and covered it with grass at 1.15pm on August 31,” the DGP said. “Again on September 8, he brought back the weaponry to the same position near his house. Meanwhile, Hyderabad’s Task Force police, along with the Counter-Intelligence Cell, analysed the profiles of 16 Army personnel who were on duty at the time of the offence, seven Quick Response Team (QRT) personnel, seven outsourcing staff members, 34 people who had previously been punished, 54 people who were on leave and seven personnel who had retired. He was contacted and asked to come to the Task Force office on September 7 and 8.
What made him move it out and then bring it back could not be ascertained due to want of time,” police said. Mallesh’s family then contacted local police, who confirmed the Task Force police’s suspicion.
Police contacted his wife and father-in-law to explain the seriousness of the case,” officials said. His resentment over being terminated from service is suspected to be the motive behind the offence. “To create evidence to disguise the police, Mallesh, en route, made a total of six passengers board his car and collected money to give the impression that he was operating a taxi service. “We had suspicion on the movements of two retired personnel, which included Mallesh. We kept a watch on his movements for a few days. However, he evaded appearing, and this further strengthened our suspicion of him. Mallesh’s wife forced him to travel to Hyderabad and confronted him about his absence for a few days. He eventually confessed to her that he had committed the offence. Based on his confession, the weapons were recovered.