HYDERABAD: A retired havildar who had been fired from his post-retirement job in June by the Army for indiscipline, single-handedly stole 12 military grade weapons and ammunition from the Madras Regiment armoury at Bollarum on Aug 30 night. Officers said he carried the guns out of the heavily guarded cantonment on his Activa scooter.Senior police officers said on Friday that the ex-serviceman, 37-year-old Upputholla Mallesh, who was upset with his superiors after being fired, is believed to have stolen the weapons, including five assault rifles and seven pistols, as a form of revenge. However, investigators said the real motive still needs to be probed.Investigators said the case was cracked after Mallesh’s wife and father-in-law were questioned by the investigators. The wife later confronted the accused about the theft and forced him to surrender before the authorities. Mallesh also helped the police recover the weapons. TOI was the first to report on Friday morning that the case had been solved and the weapons recovered.Speaking to reporters, DGP C V Anand said Mallesh had been arrested and the weapons recovered from an open field in Nagarkurnool district from under stacks of hay, about 185 km from Bollarum.The accused, who previously worked in the 20th battalion of the Madras Regiment had planned the theft meticulously and even conducted a recce of the armoury for two days, on Aug 28 and 29. Having worked with the Army for 16 years, he knew the topography of the area well and also understood how the armoury functioned.
