Mystery deepens, probe widens into weapons theft from Secunderabad cantonment

Senior Indian Army officers are questioning a senior officer from one of the units of the 20 Madras Regiment in connection with the Secunderabad Cantonment arms heist case, The Indian Express has learnt. Officers of the Telangana Police have also questioned the officer, it is learnt.

The officer is being questioned because the armoury’s books or registers were allegedly not maintained for months. Twelve weapons, including four AK-203 assault rifles, seven pistols and an INSAS rifle, had been stolen from the high-security Secunderabad Cantonment near Hyderabad in Telangana.

More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a pair of passive night-vision binoculars were also found stolen. The incident came to light around 7:50 am on August 31. A top-ranking Army officer lodged a police complaint with the Bollaram police station in Malkajgiri commissionerate, stating that the theft was detected when the ammunition storage was found open and the locks broken.

Upon verification of relevant weapon and ammunition accounting documents, it was found that some of them were not available against the recorded holdings, and the locks on the boxes where the weapons and ammunition were stored were forcibly broken.

The weapons and ammunition were last physically accounted for on August 30 at 6 pm, prior to the closing of Kote and Battalion Magazine. While the police suspected that the robbery took place during the intervening night of August 30 and 31, sources told The Indian Express that it was not possible to account for the weapons even prior to this night, allegedly because “the records were not maintained properly”.

This led police to probe the theory that the theft might have happened prior to the alleged break-in. “The Kote is always guarded and the guards maintain that they have not seen a break-in. While this statement is being examined, when we checked the records of the armoury, it was found that these were not maintained,” a senior police officer said, adding that weapons in an armoury are supposed to be accounted for each evening.

Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice.

Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare.

In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India.

Expertise & Focus Areas Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include: Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India.

Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism. Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities. National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting.

Authoritativeness & Trust A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula.

Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society. Find all stories by Nikhila Henry here.

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