In a heist straight out of a Bollywood movie, a dismissed Army Havildar allegedly rode into a high-security cantonment area on a scooty, broke open the armoury and rode out with a cache of military-grade weapons in Secunderabad last month, a joint operation by Military Intelligence of the Southern Command and the Telangana Police has found.
The incident happened at the 20th Madras Regiment in Secunderabad’s Bolarum . The accused precisely planned the whole operation. Sources said the accused, an ex-havildar dismissed from service on June 30, carried out the theft over the weekend of August 29 and August 30, when the entire battalion, including its commanding officer, was away at Pokhran for field firing. He deliberately chose the night of August 29 and 30, knowing the armoury stock would not be checked over the weekend. That calculated 48-hour window, he believed, would give him ample time to spirit away the stolen arsenal and stash it at a safe location before anyone noticed it was missing.
Investigators, however, did not buy the story. Six to seven serving Army officials are now under scanner, and three persons are already in custody. Officials suspect insider connivance was crucial.
