KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the theft of computer equipment from India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) under construction at the Cochin Shipyard has breathed a sigh of relief as the Covid-19 antibody test conducted on the two persons arrested in connection with the theft came back negative on Friday. Following this, the agency sought one-week custody of accused Sumit Kumar Singh of Bihar and Daya Ram of Rajasthan for further interrogation and recovery of the stolen hardware. The test was conducted after the duo was brought to Kochi on Thursday.
They are currently lodged in an isolation centre here in adherence to the government’s Covid-19 protocol for remand prisoners. The NIA said Singh and Ram need to be interrogated to get information about their modus operandi and whether more persons are involved. The NIA also has to recover one computer component which the accused sold via OLX in Kochi.
The court will take a decision on the NIA’s plea on Monday. It has also asked the District Legal Services Authority to appoint a lawyer to represent the duo in court. This too will be done on Monday. The theft came to light on September 13, 2019 after the trial run of the IAC’s Integrated Platform Management System.