Bollarum Arms Theft: Havildar Mallesh Had Links with Weapon Dealers
Hailing from Achampet in erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, Mallesh, who joined the Army in 2009, received special training on weapons and ammunition
Hyderabad: Havildar U Mallesh, who was arrested in connection with the theft of arms and ammunition from an army facility in Bollarum was allegedly associated with arm dealers based in Kolkata.
Hailing from Achampet in erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, Mallesh, who joined the Army in 2009, received special training on weapons and ammunition and took charge of the armory. Disciplinary action was initiated against him earlier several times due to negligence in duty. He later came in contact with an illegal arms dealer Awal Dey alias Obi of Barrackpore in Kolkata in 2022, according to police.
Mallesh was allegedly introduced to Awal Dey through Birbal Shah and purchased a gun for Rs.10,000. When Mallesh was in police custody for the last 10 days, the police collected more information about his kinks. Mallesh was inspired by web series and videos of bank and gold shop robberies in 2025 and accordingly prepared a sketch for the theft, the police said.
He conducted reconnaissance several times in the Madras Regiment in July 2026 and stole arms and ammunition.