Bolarum arms theft accused had prior criminal cases before joining Army

Retired Army Havaldar U. Mallesh, accused in the Bolarum arms theft case, had two criminal cases registered against him before he was selected for the Army in 2010, a background check by investigators has revealed.

A theft case was registered against Mallesh at Achampet police station in 2005. He was also named as an accused in a 2007 case involving the theft of gold jewellery and silver from a house under the Amrabad police station limits.

Police are now investigating how Mallesh was recruited into the Army despite the earlier criminal record. Army officials are said to be separately inquiring into the circumstances surrounding his selection.

Meanwhile, investigators have also found that Mallesh allegedly stole the arms and ammunition from the 20 Battalion, Madras Regiment, in Bolarum to get his senior officers into trouble and make them face disciplinary action over the missing cache.