The vessel is the first indigenous aircraft carrier of India

KOCHI: In a major embarrassment to the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), the hard disk, random access memory (RAM) and processor were reportedly stolen from four computers installed in an Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), which is under construction in the shipyard.

Ernakulam south police are probing the complaint filed by CSL general manager on Sunday.

The city police visited the shipyard campus on Monday and began the investigation. “There are CCTVs outside the ship construction area. But there are no cameras inside the ship and the construction work is still going on. We are examining the visuals of previous days. The shipyard authorities have no idea when the theft took place. There are many computers installed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, based in Bengaluru. But the theft took place in four computers. We cannot disclose more details about the incident,” said an officer who is part of the investigation.

The first indigenous aircraft carrier of India, it has been planned to be commissioned between 2020 and 2022 by handing it over to the Indian Navy . Meanwhile, Navy tried to downplay the incident saying that the incident had no strategic importance since it was just like any other ship under construction.

Meanwhile, CSL officials said that they had reported the theft to the Navy and a case was registered at the South police station. “We have separate security for the IAC and it is manned by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). We also have CCTVs and security on the waterfront too. There is an internal inquiry and police investigation is going on. We will be able to provide details only after the investigation is over,” said the CSL spokesperson.

However, it is learned that the theft, which was discovered in the weekend, happened when the initial trials were going on. Sources said that the systems were not functioning during the testing. Initially, it was presumed that there was some fault with the wiring system. As the technical experts began looking into the various aspects, the theft of the hardware came to light. It could become a major issue that could lead to delay in the main trials of the vessel, which is expected to start by mid-2020.

It is learned that intelligence officials have moved into investigate. CCTV images and fingerprints of all the persons involved are being taken. According to officials, the IAC is in the advanced stages of testing and commissioning.

