Hyderabad:
A joint team of Telangana Counter Intelligence, Hyderabad Task Force and Malkajgiri Police has cracked the theft of a cache of military-grade weapons from the Madras Regiment armoury in Secunderabad, recovering all stolen firearms and ammunition after a 10-day investigation.
The theft came to light on August 31 when a Lieutenant Colonel of the Madras Regiment filed a complaint at Bollaram Police Station in Hyderabad's Malkajgiri police zone. According to the complaint, the locks of two armoury storage rooms, located about 40 metres apart, had been broken and a large cache of weapons and ammunition was found missing.The stolen items included:
Four 7.62x39 mm AK-203 assault rifles
One 5.56 mm INSAS 1B1 rifle
Six 9 mm Auto 1A pistols
One 6.35-bore civilian pistol
Twenty-one magazines
One passive night-vision binocular
More than 1,900 rounds of live ammunition
Sources said investigators made a crucial breakthrough after detaining and questioning an insider.
The multi-agency probe, involving local police, Military Intelligence and central agencies, initially questioned around 10 personnel before narrowing its focus to key suspects.
Investigators increasingly suspected an insider-led operation, with the theft allegedly aided by disabled CCTV cameras and inadequately monitored night guards.
While all the missing military equipment has now been recovered, authorities are continuing to investigate the transport network used to move the weapons, possible black-market links and the role of each individual involved.
An official statement detailing arrests and charges is expected shortly.
