KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency has recovered the microprocessor stolen from the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant, and sold on an online market place, from Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district.With this the national agency has retrieved all the 20 computer components, including hard discs and RAMs, stolen from IAC last year.
NIA had arrested Sumit Kumar of Bihar and Daya Ram of Rajasthan for the theft. Following the arrest, NIA had recovered 19 stolen computer hardware from Sumit’s residence in Bihar and his brother’s house in Surat. However, the microprocessor was allegedly sold by the accused during their stay in Kochi. “Following the duo’s interrogation, we traced the lost microprocessor to Muvattupuzha. We recovered it from a 37-year-old resident of Mudavoor. The accused had sold the processor online. They had travelled to Muvattupuzha BOC bus stand to hand over the item. The person who bought it was not aware that it was a stolen good,” NIA sources said.
The agency has also recovered white-coloured iron ankle and iron square rode, two of the tools used for the theft. “They were recovered from Cochin Shipyard. Some other tools used were thrown into the Vembanad lake. Similarly, cooling fans of computers were also thrown out,” sources said.During the interrogation, NIA found that computer components were removed by Sumit Kumar with Daya keeping guard. After the theft, they kept the stolen goods at a house in Alappat Cross Road, Ravipuram in Kochi. Both were in the city when the theft was detected in September 2019. Later they moved to their native places,” sources said.
Meanwhile, the NIA is also investigating the involvement of Sumit’s brother. It was from the latter’s house that a majority of the stolen goods were recovered. The NIA is examining the accused mobile phones and social media accounts to check whether they had tried to sell the stolen goods to others including people from other countries.
Currently, both are in the agency’s custody and they will be produced before an NIA court on Wednesday. The theft was detected in September when the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) of IAC was run on a trial basis. The case was taken over by NIA after Kerala police registered an FIR. The accused persons were traced out from the palm prints left at the crime scene.