3 Army men among 7 more held in arms theft case
The arrests follow Mallesh’s 10-day police custody, during which he allegedly disclosed details of the conspiracy involving K Sheshulu (36), a sepoy posted at the Madras Regiment; Vinod Kumar (34), a naik in charge of the regiment’s armoury (Kote); K Praveen (37), a havildar with the regiment’s 16th battalion in Tamil Nadu; Birbal Shaw (27), a juice vendor; Avi Dey (32), an alleged illegal firearms supplier from Barrackpore in West Bengal; U Mallikarjun (39), a mason and Mallesh’s cousin; and Ch Niranjan (39), a grocery shop owner from Nagarkurnool district. He also discussed the plan with his colleague and friend Praveen, who had earlier paid him Rs 15,000 to procure a country-made weapon from Avi Dey. Police said assault rifles were to be sold for Rs 5 lakh each and pistols for Rs 2 lakh each. “In 2022, when Mallesh was posted at Barrackpore, he met Birbal, who runs a sugarcane juice stall at the Cantonment. Through them, Mallesh bought the country-made pistol and ammunition for Rs 10,000. Police also said Avi Dey is an accused in an Arms Act case registered in West Bengal in 2012 and is currently facing trial.
Mallesh was pensioned out of Army service in June after 16 years due to knee ailment and disciplinary issues, though he wanted to continue for three more years, according to Malkajgiri police commissioner B Sumathi. Birbal introduced him to Avi Dey.
Investigators said the prime accused, former havildar U Mallesh, had meticulously planned the offence and intended to sell the stolen weapons through contacts in West Bengal while also using them to carry out robberies and extortion. Police said Mallesh first befriended Sheshulu by helping him find accommodation near his residence in Hyderabad. He hid the weapon at his father’s house in Achampet and we recovered it during his recent police custody,” the commissioner said.
Investigators believe he harboured resentment against senior officers following his premature retirement. Through Sheshulu, he came in contact with Vinod. After the theft, Mallesh allegedly took help from Mallikarjun to conceal the weapons at his father’s house. He then contacted Birbal and Avi Dey, who were tasked with identifying buyers. Mallesh claimed to have used that weapon to commit some robberies but police complaints have not been received. All the accused were produced before a court and sent to Chanchalguda prison for judicial remand.
Hyderabad: Bollarum police on Saturday arrested seven more accused, including three serving Army personnel, in connection with the theft of firearms from the Madras Regiment. Based on Mallesh’s confession, police arrested Sheshulu, Vinod, Praveen, Birbal, Avi Dey, Mallikarjun and Niranjan on Saturday.