New Delhi: The Telangana Police has taken into custody a man it suspects is behind the theft of sophisticated weapons from the armoury of the Indian Army’s Madras Regiment in Secunderabad last month, ThePrint has learnt.
With the identification of the main suspect, who recently retired from service and was aware of the military camp’s layout, the police also recovered the missing weapons: four AK-203 assault rifles, six 9 mm pistols and an INSAS rifle along with missing ammunition, sources further said.
They added that the prime suspect is being questioned to unravel the entire chain of events and conspiracy, which Director General of Police C.V. Anand will reveal at a press conference scheduled for later in the afternoon.
ThePrint had earlier reported that the Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate had registered a First Information Report based on a complaint from the Indian Army under sections 331(4) (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking) and 305 (theft in special protected places) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Apart from the arms, the Army had informed the police that around 1,800 rounds of ammunition and 21 magazines were missing from the armoury, putting the entire Bolarum cantonment region in Secunderabad on high alert. Nearly 700 of those missing rounds were of AK-203 rifles.
In his complaint to the local police, a lieutenant colonel-ranked officer posted with the Madras Regiment informed local authorities that after the missing weapons and ammunition came to light, several steps were carried out, such as thorough verification of the complete weapon and ammunition holdings and accounting documents.
Additionally, the Army had also carried out identification and questioning of personnel with access to the storage area. The facts about missing weapons and ammunition were also reported to the chain of command, the officer said in his complaint, adding that a detailed internal inquiry was initiated to determine the circumstances that led to their loss.
However, he had urged the police to register a criminal case as well, considering the possibility of “unauthorised possession, misuse or movement” of those missing service weapons and ammunition.
“In view of the nature of the missing articles, particularly the service weapons and ammunition, there is a possibility of their unauthorised possession, misuse or movement. As such, they requested that the matter may kindly be investigated by the Police and an FIR be registered under the applicable provisions relating to theft/misappropriation, unauthorised possession of arms/ammunition and other offences as may be established during investigation,” the Army officer had said in his police complaint.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)