Arms Theft Accused Was in Touch With Pak Arms Dealer
Investigators are also expected to examine the circumstances in which the stolen weapons were handled after the theft and whether any other persons were involved.
Hyderabad: The Bolaram police have filed a petition with the Secunderabad court seeking a seven-day custody of U. Mallesh, accused of stealing arms and ammunition from the Madras Regiment premises, to question him further and establish the circumstances surrounding the theft.
During the proposed custodial interrogation, police will focus on whether Mallesh received assistance in stealing the weapons and whether he attempted to sell or dispose of them. Investigators are also expected to examine the circumstances in which the stolen weapons were handled after the theft and whether any other persons were involved.
Police are likely to question kote in-charge Vinod Kumar as part of the investigation to establish the sequence of. Investigators may also seek the assistance of the accused’s wife, who played a key role in convincing him to confess to the crime.
Meanwhile, agencies probing the theft have uncovered a potentially significant trail in his social-media activity, which linked him to a Pakistan based account `Black Rock Arms`, which is an unknown illegal arms and ammunition dealer based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Mallesh’s Instagram account, @upputhollamallesh, was found following @blackrockarms5050, an account operating under the name `Black Rock Arms` which identifies itself as an arms and ammunition dealer based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
During investigation the Telangana Forensic Laboratory and Military Intelligence teams discovered that the account has been active since September 25, 2025, posting pictures and videos of sophisticated firearms and ammunition for buying and selling purposes.
Mallesh has been following `Black Rock Arms` that carries a link leading to a Pakistani contact number pointing to an alleged link with Pakistan-based terror outfits, his Instagram account collected by Deccan Chronicle disclosed.
Another person, V Chandrasekhar (@vcharashakargmail.com) has been following Mallesh and Black Rock Arms suggesting a triangular nexus.
Sources said Mallesh’s account also followed @tanishagill312026 which appears to be a fake profile that followed Mallesh back. The account that was still live had followers that included Mallesh and Chandrashekar but also several Pakistan based profiles, including @ssgwarrior82 and @bhi_ahmed786, raising further questions over the nature of Mallesh’s social media network and whether these connections had any relevance to the events surrounding the alleged theft.
Villagers from Mallesh’s native place in Jangampally Nagarkurnool district say that from the past three years after his marriage he stopped taking care of his parents and hardly spoke to them; he had stored the stolen weapons on the first floor of his father’s G+1 house. He was staying alone at his native place in Urdumilla village, where his grandfather was born.
One of the villagers said, “Mallesh had completely changed after his premature retirement. He had recently come to the village to attend his mother’s funeral and hardly responded when we greeted him. He managed to collect the keys of the dump room and confine himself in the room for 11 days following his mother’s death and never allowed anybody including his father into the room.”
Mallesh’s father Narayana works as a warden and cook at a hostel in Jangampally. “The local police informed us that Mallesh wanted to earn money by selling the stolen weapons in foreign country prior to his arrest,” Mallesh’s friend said.
It did not seem that Mallesh stole the weapons over a grudge over his superior official but wanted to sell the weapons to international arms dealers, one of the investigation officers claimed. The police have ruled out the possibility of a Maoist link in the case.
