Cops Question Soldiers After Rifles and Pistols Stolen from Bollarum Army Armoury

Police are investigating the theft of high-end firearms and ammunition weighing nearly 40 kilograms from the Madras Regiment's armoury in Secunderabad Cantonment's Bollarum, with investigators suspecting that a group of soldiers could be involved in smuggling out the weapons over time.

The heist took place late on Sunday, resulting in the theft of four AK-203 assault rifles, one INSAS rifle, seven pistols, and a substantial quantity of ammunition. Officials stated that 72 hours after the crime was first detected, none of the stolen weapons had been recovered.

Army guards deployed at the facility claimed during police interrogation that they did not notice burglars breaking open the locks and escaping because of heavy rainfall that night. Although the Army's formal complaint noted that the firearms and ammunition were physically accounted for at 6 pm on August 30 before the armoury was closed, police officers have not ruled out the possibility that the weapons were removed in instalments across a period of time.

Investigators noted serious lapses in security measures at the site. A senior police officer said that CCTV cameras at the armoury had been switched off every night for the past several months under the explanation of preventing fire mishaps. Furthermore, the armoury lacked any operational anti-burglary alarm system.

A senior police officer stated that it was unlikely that guards would fail to notice such a time-consuming burglary involving nearly 40 kilograms of gear, adding that the operation would require more than one person's involvement alongside a four-wheeler to transport the cache.

Sustained questioning of 10 Army personnel has so far not produced a breakthrough in the case. Police investigators are currently verifying whether the perpetrators dropped the stolen weapons over the compound wall to an associate who was waiting outside to collect them.