Navy stolen rifle case solved: Police arrest Agniveer from Telangana who was planning to sell it to naxals

Mumbai crime branch has arrested a junior Indian Navy sailor and his elder in the INSAS rifle theft case which was stolen last week. The rifle was stolen from Navy Nagar in Colaba and the police suspect that they may have intended to sell it to Naxalities in Telangana. The investigation is also probing the Naxal link in the security breach.

The brothers Rakesh Dubbala (22) and his elder brother Umesh (25) were arrested from the Yelukapalli village in Penchikalpet mandal in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana. A source told TOI that Rakesh's earlier posting facilitated his access to the area, as he had been well known to many during his tenure.

Asifabad DSP Kantilal Patil told TOI that Rakesh, a Class 12 graduate, was recruited into the Indian Navy through the 2023 Agniveer batch and served at the Mumbai naval base until February this year.

How the incident took place

The incident took place on Saturday evening, the final day of the Ganpati celebrations.

According to police, a man impersonating a Navy personnel approached a 20-year-old junior sailor on sentry duty, claiming to be his replacement from the Quick Response Team (QRT). Believing him, the sailor handed over his INSAS rifle along with 40 rounds of ammunition.

The impersonator then changed into civilian clothes, scaled the compound wall, and handed the weapon and ammunition to an accomplice waiting outside.

CCTV footage showed the suspect entering Navy Nagar, spending nearly three hours inside the residential area, and leaving without raising suspicion. Police noted that his confidence and understanding of protocol indicated prior familiarity with naval operations.

After obtaining the rifle from the sailor under false pretense Rakesh threw the gun over the compound wall where Umesh was waiting on the other side.

A source from the Navy said drills were conducted to identify and fix security loopholes believed to have been exploited after the imposter entered Navy Nagar and stole the rifle, three magazines and 40 bullets. "However, it is sad that the person turned out to be our own man from the Agniveer batch. “There is no scope to hand over a weapon to any person whose name is not in the duty roster,” a Navy officer said to TOI.

(With inputs from TOI)