Secunderabad Cantt theft: Ex-officer, 3 serving Army men suspected

A retired officer, now detained, is suspected to have been involved in the theft due to addiction to bad habits, while three serving officers allegedly assisted him in the crime.

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force, working with the Malkajgiri Police, has reportedly cracked the case of the theft of weapons and ammunition from the Madras Regiment armoury in Bollaram. Officials suspect a retired military officer and three serving officers in connection with the theft, with preliminiary reports of detention; however, the Indian Army has denied it.

“It is clarified that reports stating that three Indian Army officers have been arrested or detained in connection with the case are factually incorrect, misleading and unverified,” the Army said in a statement.

According to preliminary information, the retired officer, who left the Army about two months ago, allegedly stole the weapons with the assistance of the three serving officers. The suspects were reportedly identified after an intensive search operation by the Task Force.

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According to preliminary reports, the police launched a major operation on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the early hours of Friday, September 11. The stolen weapons and ammunition were recovered.

The retired officer is suspected to have been involved in the theft due to addiction to bad habits, while the three serving officers allegedly assisted him in the crime.

The Task Force had formed 12 teams to trace the missing weapons and identify those involved. The case had remained unsolved for nearly two weeks. In a statement dismissing reports of the arrest, the Army stated, “The joint investigation into the matter is presently underway and is being conducted by the concerned authorities.”

The theft came to light on August 31 at the 20 Madras Regiment battalion premises, when personnel found the locks of the armoury and battalion magazine broken and several service weapons missing, including AK-203 rifles, an INSAS rifle and pistols, along with ammunition and a night-vision device. A case was registered at Bollaram police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to house-breaking and theft from a specially protected place.

The probe had earlier drawn in Military Intelligence, the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the Military Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), amid concerns over a possible terror or extremist angle.