The National Investigation Agency has claimed to have cracked the sensational case involving the theft of hard disks, RAMs and processors from INS Vikrant, India's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC).

The theft was reported in September 2019 during the ship construction at the Cochin Shipyard in Kerala.

The agency arrested two migrant workers from Bihar on Tuesday. One person hail from Bihar while the other is a resident of Rajasthan.

Both worked as painters in the ship.

NIA sources said they apparently stole the equipment in response to their dismissal from the job. Altercation with the contractor appeared to be the reason for terminating their services.

Following the theft, NIA had examined the fingerprints of over 5,000 people with the assistance of Kerala Police.

The security at the shipyard has also been tightened after the incident with the deployment of additional Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel. Biometric scanning and body scanning have also been made mandatory at the gates.

Cochin Shipyard is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India.

The work on INS Vikrant's design began in 1999, and the keel was laid in February 2009. The ship is expected to start sea trials in February 2021 and enter into service as early as 2023. The project cost has neared Rs 20,000 crore.

With the completion of INS Vikrant, India will join the ranks of US, England, Russia, France and China in the construction of flight carriers.