Probe on into theft of hard disks from INS Vikrant

A police special investigation team has launched a probe into the theft of four computer hard disks from INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, which is in advanced stages of commissioning at the Cochin Shipyard in Kochi.

Even as top police officials maintained that the hard disks did not contain any sensitive information, security agencies are attaching high importance to the incident as it took place at the CISF-guarded Cochin Shipyard. The theft, which came to notice on Tuesday, was suspected to have taken at least a week back, police sources told DH.

A police team led by assistant commissioner of Kochi district crime branch Biji George was constituted to probe into the matter and Kochi city police commission IG Vijay Sakhare is directly supervising the investigation.

Police sources said that 2,000-odd people are working in the Cochin Shipyard and their credentials need to be re-verified, even as entry passes were issued to them after verification.

The aircraft carrier is expected to be commissioned by 2021. The theft of the hard disks was reportedly noticed after malfunctioning of the systems during testing. Subsequently, the Shipyard authorities reported the matter to police.