4 AK-203 rifles among 11 weapons stolen from army facility in Telangana

Telangana Police are investigating the theft of sophisticated weapons and ammunition from the highly secured armoury of the Madras Regiment in the Secunderabad Cantonment area, suspecting the involvement of personnel from within the premises, police said on Tuesday.The theft is believed to have taken place on Sunday night and came to light around 7.50 am on Monday. (Representational Photo/Unsplash)The theft is believed to have taken place on Sunday night and came to light around 7.50 am on Monday, when Army personnel opened the “Kote and Battalion Magazine” (ammunition storage) at Bollarum and found that the locks and boxes containing weapons and ammunition had been broken open.The missing weapons include four AK-203 assault rifles, a 5.56mm INSAS rifle, six 9mm auto pistols and a 6.35-bore civilian pistol, besides 21 magazines and a passive night vision binocular. The stolen items are worth around ₹15 lakh.Also Read: SLBC tunnel crosses dangerous ‘shear zone’ in major breakthroughArmy authorities, after conducting an initial internal investigation, lodged a formal complaint at Bollarum police station around 3 pm on Monday. Police registered a case under Sections 331(4) (housebreaking by night) and 305 (aggravated theft in a public property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Malkajgiri commissioner of police B Sumathi, who inspected the weapons room where the theft took place, told reporters on Tuesday that special teams had been formed to investigate the case. Police are probing how the thieves managed to break open the locks of a room containing weapons in an area protected by stringent military security, she said.“We are also looking into the possibility of involvement by personnel from within the premises,” she said, adding that staff members were being questioned and fingerprints and other evidence were being collected from the scene.Also Read: Punjab: Military Lit Fest begins, focus on armed forces, nat’l securityAccording to the FIR, accessed by HT, the stolen weapons and other articles were missing from the recorded holdings of the weaponry unit.“The weapons and ammunition had last been physically accounted for at around 6 pm on August 30, before the Kote and Battalion Magazine were closed. The exact circumstances and time of the disappearance are presently unknown,” the FIR said.After the theft was detected, the unit authorities verified weapon and ammunition records, searched authorised storage areas and adjoining premises, checked relevant registers and records, and identified and questioned personnel with authorised access to the storage areas.