An unidentified man tricking by wearing naval uniform entered into Navy Nagar, the Indian Navy's official residential area situated in Mumbai's Colaba where entry to others are restricted, tricked a junior sailor on duty at the AP Tower Radar and fled with his an INSAS rifle and two loaded magazines with 40 live cartridges on Saturday, September 6, according to the news agency IANS.
The intruder convinced the Navy officer who was on sentry duty that he was sent to replace him in his charge for the day. The security breach at Navy Nagar prompted police action, including multiple agencies National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), have joined the investigation into the incident.
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The Cuffe Parade Police station filed an FIR against the unidentified intruder and an extensive search has been launched with police coordination. An initial board inquiry within the department has been ordered to probe the incident that led to the theft of arms and ammunition of the Naval forces.
The incident occurred at around 7.30 pm on Saturday. The man approached the Navy sailor, claiming that he was taking over his position for the next shift. Believing the stranger to be his replacement, he handed over his service weapon and magazines to him before leaving his place.
After an hour, the junior sailor realised that he had forgotten his wrist watch at the post behind and returned to the AP Tower Radar to collect it, but found that the man had disappeared. He then alerted others and began searching the nearby area for the intruder, but he had disappeared. After nearly three hours of futile attempts, he reported the matter to his superiors, said sources.
A team from the Navy immediately launched a search operation in the area in and around the vicinity, but failed to find any trace of the suspect. After this, the Navy contacted the Cuffe Parade police and lodged an FIR. Police said that they are examining CCTV footage from the nearby areas to trace the man.