Three serving Army personnel are among seven more persons arrested in the Bolarum armoury theft, with police stating that the weapons were meant for a series of robberies targeting banks, jewellery shops and wealthy individuals.
Malkajgiri Commissioner of Police B. Sumathi said on Saturday, October 3, that the fresh arrests take the total number of accused in custody to eight. The prime accused, Upputholla Mallesh alias Raju, 37, a retired Havildar of the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, was arrested on September 11 and is lodged in Chanchalguda Central Jail. The seven arrested on Saturday were produced before a local court and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.
The seven arrested
The three serving personnel are Konduri Sheshulu, 36, a Sepoy of the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, and a native of Markapuram in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh; Vinod Kumar, 34, a Naik and Kote (arms store) employee of the same battalion, also from Markapuram; and Kucharakanti Praveen, 37, a Havildar of the 16 Battalion, Madras Regiment, from Gundlapottapalli in Mahabubnagar district.
The civilians are Avi Dey alias Obi, 32, of Barrackpore in West Bengal; Birbal Shaw, 27, who runs a sugarcane-juice stall near Barrackpore Cantonment; Upputholla Mallikarjun, 39, a mason and Mallesh’s cousin, of Padara in Nagarkurnool district; and Chemmakar Niranjan, 39, a general-store owner and Mallesh’s friend, also of Padara.
Robbery plan, not a terror link
Addressing a press conference, Commissioner Sumathi said Mallesh, facing financial strain after leaving service, hatched the plan with Mallikarjun and Niranjan to commit large property offences. Investigators found that he had shared bank-robbery videos with the two and asked them to study how such heists were carried out. Police said the group intended to use firearms to rob banks and jewellery shops and to extort money from wealthy persons.
When attempts to buy pistols through West Bengal contacts stalled, Mallesh decided to steal arms from his former unit. He then contacted Sheshulu, Vinod Kumar and Praveen, men he had served with in the Madras Regiment. Police allege the three knew of the plan, supplied details of the Kote, guard positions and sentry duties, and assisted in breaking open the locks of the Kote and magazine. The Hindu reported that Mallesh conducted several reconnaissance visits, knew the unit’s CCTV cameras were under repair, and called Praveen around midnight after the theft to say the work was done.
Commissioner Sumathi said the investigation has found no terrorist or extremist links. The motive, she said, was commission of major property offences.
West Bengal buyers and an earlier firearm
Mallesh’s link to the West Bengal accused dates to 2022, when the 20 Battalion was posted at Barrackpore. Through Shaw, he bought a country-made firearm, or tapancha, and one live round from Dey for ₹10,000. That weapon was later recovered from his father’s house at Sai Nagar Colony, Achampet, on September 23. It had not been used in any offence.
After the Bolarum theft, Dey agreed to buy the stolen Army weapons, offering ₹3 lakh for each pistol and ₹5 lakh for each long weapon, with a separate payment for ammunition. Shaw is alleged to have acted as broker. Dey already has an Arms Act case pending before the Second Judicial Magistrate’s Court at Barrackpore, arising from Khardah police station.
The theft and the recovery
The break-in was discovered on August 31, when personnel of the 20 Battalion found the locks of the Kote and magazine forced. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mayank Govitirkar, lodged a complaint the same evening at Bollarum police station. The theft is placed on the night of August 30 and the early hours of August 31.
The stolen cache, since recovered, comprised four AK-203 rifles with five magazines, one INSAS rifle with three magazines, six 9 mm pistols with 12 magazines, one 6.35-bore civilian pistol with a magazine, three binoculars, 1,156 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, 720 AK-203 rounds and 36 INSAS rounds. Police also seized five mobile phones. The arms and ammunition were recovered from locations linked to Mallesh, including his father’s residence at Achampet in Nagarkurnool.
Mallesh, a native of Udumelli village in Padara mandal, Nagarkurnool, left the Army on June 30, 2026. He was questioned in police custody from September 22 to October 1, during which the wider conspiracy emerged. The case is registered as Crime No. 207/2026 at Bollarum police station under Sections 331(4), 305, 249, 317(5), 61(2) and 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Sections 25(1AA), 25(1)(A) and 25(1)(B) of the Arms Act, 1959. The investigation is continuing.
