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Telangana police said on October 3, 2026, that seven more people had been arrested in the theft of firearms and ammunition from an Army facility in Bolarum, Secunderabad Cantonment. The group includes three serving Army personnel. Police had arrested retired havildar Upputholla Mallesh earlier, on September 11; the October 3 reports therefore put the total arrested at eight, counting the earlier arrest.
What happened at the Bolarum Army facility?
Police said the theft came to light on August 31, 2026, when Army personnel found the locks of the Kote, or arms store, and the magazine facility broken at the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment facility in Bolarum/Bollaram, Secunderabad Cantonment. Reports describe firearms and ammunition as missing.
Hindustan Times reported the inventory as four AK-203 rifles with magazines, one INSAS rifle, six 9 mm pistols, one 6.35-bore civilian pistol, binoculars, additional magazines and ammunition. Telangana Today also published an item list, but the reports differ in their inventory descriptions. The figures above are therefore the Hindustan Times account, not a court-tested final inventory. Hindustan Times; Telangana Today
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Police announced the seven additional arrests on October 3. Hindustan Times identified the three serving Army personnel as Konduri Sheshulu, a sepoy; Vinod Kumar, described as a jawan; and Kucharakanthi Praveen, a havildar. The report identified the other four as Avi Dey, also known as Obi; Birbal Shaw; Upputholla Mallikarjun; and Chemmakar Niranjan. These names and descriptions are as reported, and the arrests do not establish guilt.
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Retired havildar Upputholla Mallesh, described in reports as the prime accused, had been arrested on September 11. Hindustan Times reported that police later held him for interrogation from September 22 to October 1. Adding his earlier arrest to the seven announced on October 3 gives eight people reported arrested; that total is calculated from the reports’ counts rather than stated as a separate police statistic. Telangana Today and Hindustan Times reported that the seven newly arrested were sent to 14-day judicial remand. Hindustan Times; Telangana Today
What do police allege the group planned?
Police Commissioner B. Sumathi said investigators believed Mallesh enlisted former colleagues to help take the weapons and ammunition. Police allege that Mallesh, his cousin Mallikarjun and his friend Niranjan planned to use the cache in robberies targeting banks, jewellery shops and wealthy individuals. Police also allege Mallesh contacted two people in West Bengal about buying the stolen weapons. These are allegations reported by police, not findings by a court.
Police said Mallesh had been posted in Barrackpore in 2022, where he became acquainted with Shaw and, through Shaw, allegedly met Dey. Hindustan Times reported Sumathi’s account that the weapons were recovered after Mallesh’s arrest and concealed at his father’s house in Achampet. The October 3 reports said investigators uncovered the alleged wider conspiracy during Mallesh’s police custody.
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What did the police commissioner say about extremist links?
Hindustan Times quoted Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B. Sumathi on October 3 as saying: “The investigation has revealed that there are no terrorist or extremist links to the accused. They had stolen the weapons with the intention of committing major property offences.” This is the commissioner’s reported account of the investigation, not an independently verified conclusion or a court finding.
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The reports do not establish the exact charges and case number for every accused, subsequent court hearings, whether the reported 14-day remand has changed, or a final inventory tested in court. Those details should not be treated as settled based on the October 3 reporting alone.
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