Unknown man flees with on-duty Agniveer’s INSAS rifle, 40 bullets

Mumbai police are searching for a man who posed as a QRT official to steal an Agniveer's rifle and 40 bullets on September 6.

MUMBAI: The police have launched a manhunt for the unknown person who allegedly took away an Agniveer’s rifle along with 40 bullets by posing as a Quick Response Team (QRT) official on September 6.

Unknown man flees with on-duty Agniveer’s INSAS rifle, 40 bullets

Police officials said that the alleged thief approached the Agniveer, Alok Kaushal Kishore Singh, 20, who was working as a radar protector guard at AP Tower, New Navy Nagar, Cuffe-Parade. He asked Singh to hand over the weapon–an INSAS (Indian New Small Arms System) rifle and three magazines containing around 40 rounds of 5.56 mm. Posing as a QRT official, the man told Singh that he was his replacement and instructed him to go back towards the hostel.

On his way back, Singh suspected foul play when he noticed another Agniveer deployed nearby who had not been replaced. According to the police, realising he had forgotten his watch at his post, Singh went back to the spot but found that his ‘replacement’ had disappeared and his weapon was missing.

A police officer said, “Finally, after searching and waiting for his weapon, he approached us and a case was registered late at night on Sunday. Teams of the Mumbai crime branch and the local police are trying to trace the accused.” The alleged thief has been booked under section 303 (2) (theft) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the police added.