Police blame background check errors – the New Indian Express

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Express news service

KOCHI: Following the arrest of an Afghan national who worked at the highly sensitive Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), where India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) is being built, police found that no systematic background checks on migrant workers were carried out. employed by contractors. Although the espionage angle was ruled out based on the preliminary investigation into the incident, police on Thursday requested the custody of Afghan Idgul alias Abbas Khan, 24, in the court of first instance. Ernakulam instance for questioning.

Despite the theft of 20 IAC computer components in 2019, which led to the arrest of two non-Keralite workers by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), CSL authorities are not carrying out checks appropriate background of contract workers, police said. “The shipyard authorities accept the police verification certificate, which can be genuine or fake, to allow workers brought in by contractors. In this case, the Aadhaar card presented by the Afghan national was accepted to allow him to work inside the shipyard, which is a security sensitive place as the first Indian IAC is being built here. A verification of the Aadhaar card would have revealed his true nationality because his father and mother are still in Afghanistan, ”said an officer part of the investigation team.

City police commissioner CH Nagaraju said the accused used a fake school transfer certificate to obtain an Aadhaar card from Assam. “He came to India from Afghanistan on a visa two or three years ago. Her mother was born and raised in Assam before leaving for Afghanistan. He managed to get an Aadhaar card after showing a fake school certificate to Assam.

Later he came to Kochi and was employed by a contractor from CSL. Proper employee background checks are essential to avoid such incidents. Thousands of workers enter CSL on a daily basis. We couldn’t find a spy angle in the case. Further details will emerge during the interrogation, ”he said.

Meanwhile, CSL officials maintained that no security breaches had been committed on their part. They claim that the company was not the source of the police or Aadhaar verification certificate issued to the arrested person. “Our system is foolproof. How can CSL take responsibility for an Afghan national who duped all the agencies and managed to get an Aadhaar card? Thousands of workers enter the CSL compound daily to work. We were the first to find this person and report the matter to the police, ”an official said.

When asked if the details of the accused’s family members according to the Aadhaar card had been independently verified, CSL officials said they could not release those details since a police investigation is underway. In progress. “This question should be put to the police who are investigating. We were the plaintiffs, ”said an official.

Police also maintain that the presence of a person with a false identity was detected following a denunciation received by CISF staff from a colleague in June of this year. “One of the colleagues informed the CISF that the accused had submitted false identity information. When CSL began checking documents, the defendants fled, prompting them to file a complaint with the police. It was after the detailed investigation that the nationality of the person was revealed and we arrested him from Calcutta, ”added an official.

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