<p>One of the two men who are suspected to have stolen INSAS rifles from the Army cantonment at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh has been identified as a serving Army sepoy, the police said on Saturday.</p>.<p>Earlier, the police had said he was an army officer.</p>.<p>"His name is Harpreet Singh, resident of Miani in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab," a senior official of Madhya Pradesh police said.</p>.<p>A team of MP police has been sent to Punjab for probe he added.</p>.<p>"He is with Sikh regiment, posted at Ramgarh, Bihar. He is on leave without pay since October 15," the official said.</p>.<p>The sepoy had undergone band training at Pachmarhi between March 2018 and June 2018, the official added.</p>.<p>The identity of the other accused was still not known, he said.</p>.<p>As per earlier inputs, they seemed to have crossed into Maharashtra, but now they are suspected to have reached Hoshiarpur, another police officer said.</p>.<p>The duo stole two INSAS rifles from Pachmarhi cantonment in the early hours of December 6, sending the police into a tizzy and forcing them to sound high alert.</p>.<p>The duo posed as army officers, and ordered a sentry at a check post to summon other jawans for assembly. They sent another sentry to call a Junior Commissioned Officer from the camp.</p>.<p>When the two sentries left the check post, the duo picked up their INSAS assault rifles loaded with 20-cartridge magazines, and fled, the police said.</p>.<p>Preliminary investigation found that the duo had arrived at Pipariya railway station in Hoshangabad district after boarding a train in Jabalpur, and hired an SUV to reach Pachmarhi cantonment, 55 km away.</p>.<p>They apparently took the SUV back to the railway station after stealing rifles.</p>.<p>"We have CCTV footage of the accused wearing hooded sweatshirts, getting food packed from a dhaba before committing the theft," Hoshangabad superintendent of police M L Chhari told PTI earlier in the day.</p>.<p>"The SUV driver told us that the duo spoke to each other in Punjabi accent," the SP said.</p>.<p>"The duo entered the Army camp around 1.30 am and left around 3.13 am on Friday," the SP said.</p>.<p>Additional director general of police (ADG) Dr S W Naqvi said the police obtained CCTV footage showing that the duo travelled to Pipariya from Jabalpur.</p>.<p>"We are yet to find out how and where they escaped from the railway station after committing the crime," he said. </p>
<p>One of the two men who are suspected to have stolen INSAS rifles from the Army cantonment at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh has been identified as a serving Army sepoy, the police said on Saturday.</p>.<p>Earlier, the police had said he was an army officer.</p>.<p>"His name is Harpreet Singh, resident of Miani in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab," a senior official of Madhya Pradesh police said.</p>.<p>A team of MP police has been sent to Punjab for probe he added.</p>.<p>"He is with Sikh regiment, posted at Ramgarh, Bihar. He is on leave without pay since October 15," the official said.</p>.<p>The sepoy had undergone band training at Pachmarhi between March 2018 and June 2018, the official added.</p>.<p>The identity of the other accused was still not known, he said.</p>.<p>As per earlier inputs, they seemed to have crossed into Maharashtra, but now they are suspected to have reached Hoshiarpur, another police officer said.</p>.<p>The duo stole two INSAS rifles from Pachmarhi cantonment in the early hours of December 6, sending the police into a tizzy and forcing them to sound high alert.</p>.<p>The duo posed as army officers, and ordered a sentry at a check post to summon other jawans for assembly. They sent another sentry to call a Junior Commissioned Officer from the camp.</p>.<p>When the two sentries left the check post, the duo picked up their INSAS assault rifles loaded with 20-cartridge magazines, and fled, the police said.</p>.<p>Preliminary investigation found that the duo had arrived at Pipariya railway station in Hoshangabad district after boarding a train in Jabalpur, and hired an SUV to reach Pachmarhi cantonment, 55 km away.</p>.<p>They apparently took the SUV back to the railway station after stealing rifles.</p>.<p>"We have CCTV footage of the accused wearing hooded sweatshirts, getting food packed from a dhaba before committing the theft," Hoshangabad superintendent of police M L Chhari told PTI earlier in the day.</p>.<p>"The SUV driver told us that the duo spoke to each other in Punjabi accent," the SP said.</p>.<p>"The duo entered the Army camp around 1.30 am and left around 3.13 am on Friday," the SP said.</p>.<p>Additional director general of police (ADG) Dr S W Naqvi said the police obtained CCTV footage showing that the duo travelled to Pipariya from Jabalpur.</p>.<p>"We are yet to find out how and where they escaped from the railway station after committing the crime," he said. </p>