New Delhi, February 17 The Delhi Police has identified a person involved in the theft of devices at the India AI Impact Summit, which took place after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the expo, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Dhananjay Yadav, co-founder and CEO of NeoSapien, a homegrown wearable startup, had complained about the theft of his devices, which he had left at his booth, allegedly at the instruction of security personnel.
Yadav stated that the theft of his products was "difficult and painful," noting that it occurred during a security shutdown for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.
Manish Kumar Agrawal, Special Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Division), said that the local police are investigating the case, and CCTV cameras are in place.
"The gentleman left the items unattended, despite the fact that a locker was provided. It was expected that the exhibitor would put the items in the locker," Agrawal said.
"But nevertheless, for whatever reasons he left (it) unattended, but we have proof. The local police have proof as to who did it, and we are working on that case," Agrawal added.
Agrawal said that the Delhi Police had asked Yadav to register a formal complaint.
"We have registered an FIR. We will be able to resolve this," Agrawal said.
Yadav shared that initially, one security team had allowed him to stay back after his request, he said, adding, "We have developed a patented technology, which is India's first AI wearable. I wanted to showcase myself."
However, another security team later asked him to vacate, as the area needed to be "sanitized," Yadav recollected.
When exhibitors were allowed to enter the halls around 6:30 pm, Yadav said, "I asked one of the volunteers to keep the device with him, but when the gates were opened, and he came to our booth, he found that our devices were missing," which was "disheartening."
When asked what message the incident sends out to the world when India is hosting such a mega global event, he said, "We are going to learn from this. This is the first of its kind event (in India). So we're going to learn from it and get better at it."
He further said, "The second day has been phenomenal. (I am) amazed at the footfalls, the kind of people who are coming. I think we are going to learn from it and get better at it." Yadav pointed out that the Delhi Police has been very helpful and proactive regarding the case.
"I am thankful to them. I think they would be able to figure out why this happened, how did this happen. I have complete trust in them. I had a great experience with them," he added.