Two contractual staff arrested for stealing wearable devices from AI summit at Bharat Mandapam
Police said CCTV footage from the venue was examined and technical surveillance was mounted, leading to the identification and apprehension of the two accused.
Two contractual employees have been arrested for allegedly stealing AI-based wearable devices belonging to a Bengaluru-based startup from the AI Impact Summit venue at Bharat Mandapam, police sources told news agency PTI on Wednesday.
The accused have been identified as Manish Nagar and Ashish Mahariya, who were hired on a contractual basis to carry out videography work during the summit.
'AI device was mistaken for pendrive'
According to police, the duo picked up the devices from the venue after allegedly mistaking them for pen drives and believing they could be used for personal purposes. "Duo picked up some devices from the venue, mistaking them for pen drives and believing they could be of personal use. The stolen devices -- AI wearable -- have been recovered," the source said.
The arrests came a day after an FIR was registered at Tilak Marg police station following a complaint by Dhananjay Yadav, co-founder and CEO of NeoSapien. In his complaint, Yadav alleged that his company's AI-based wearable device went missing during the summit on Monday.
CCTV footage led to the arrest of two accused
Police said CCTV footage from the venue was scrutinised and technical surveillance was mounted, which led to the identification and apprehension of the two accused.
The recovered devices have been seized, and further investigation into the case is underway.
NeoSapien CEO took to X to complain about wearables being stolen. "At 12 noon, security personnel arrived to sanitise and cordon off the area ahead of the visit by PM Modi visit at 2pm," he wrote. "I explained that we're building India's first patented AI wearable at NeoSapien and requested a chance to showcase it."
One officer told others to let him stay but then another group came and ordered him and his team to leave immediately.
"I asked: "Should we take our wearables?" They said, others are leaving even laptops behind, security will take care. Trusting them, I left. Hoping that the wearables will be safe, and If I am lucky, it might catch the eye of PM Modi," he said adding the gates were closed from 12-6 pm on Monday. Later, he and his team found that "wearables were stolen."
"Think about this: We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even the booth. Only to see our wearables disappear inside a high-security zone. If only security and official entourage had access, how did this happen? This is extremely disappointing," he wrote.
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