Navy Agniveer along with his brother held for stealing rifles from Maharashtra's Navy Nagar

Mumbai: Days after an INSAS rifle and two magazines with 20 rounds each and an empty magazine were stolen from the high-security residential area of Indian Navy in Colaba area of Mumbai, the Crime Branch-CID has arrested two brothers from Telangana.

The two accused—Rakesh Ramesh Dubbula (22) and Umesh Ramesh Dubbula (25)— were arrested from their house in their native in Kumuram Bheem in the Asifabad district in Telangana.

The theft of the rifle plus ammunition from the Navy Nagar residential area was a major security breach that too on 6 September, when the security was tight because of Anant Chaturdashi, the closing day of the 11-day Ganeshotsav.

Rakesh is an Agniveer currently posted in the Kochi naval base, however, previously he was attached to the Navy Nagar area in Mumbai from August 2024 to February 2025 and performed sentry duties. Having served in Mumbai, he was familiar with the area and duty rounds.

Rakesh and Umesh arrived in Mumbai on September 5 and 6, respectively.

Rakesh used his I-card to gain access to the compound and approached the junior sailor claiming to be his reliever from the Quick Response Team (QRT) - following which the latter fell in trap.

Rakesh collected the weapon and threw it out of the compound from where Umesh collected it.

They took a taxi and headed for the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at Kurla and took a train back home.

“The movements of the accused were tracked through technical and human intelligence, which led to their arrest," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Raj Tilak Roshan.

The reason for the theft is not known, however, since their Asifabad falls in a forest area, the police are probing the Naxal angle.

The Western Naval Command, in a brief statement, said: “The case of theft of rifle and ammunition from a sentry at a post in Naval residential area in Mumbai has been expeditiously solved by the Mumbai Police, in close coordination with the Indian Navy.

Two persons have been arrested by the Mumbai Police. The accused arrested from outside Maharashtra are being brought to Mumbai for further investigation. The Indian Navy continues to extend all possible assistance to the agencies involved in the subject investigation.”