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The Kochi City Police have launched a preliminary inquiry after a message reading ‘I Love Pakistan’ was found engraved inside a vessel that was brought to the Cochin Shipyard in Kochi, Kerala, for maintenance.
The probe was launched after Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) authorities reported the matter to the police on June 12, police sources said. The message, inscribed on an internal wall of the vessel using a sharp object, was noticed by employees engaged in maintenance work, the sources added.
A case would be registered after the preliminary inquiry is completed, sources said.
The Ernakulam Town South police who are probing the complaint have recorded the statements of employees engaged in maintenance work on the vessel. Registers and other records are also being examined. “A large number of employees, including permanent and temporary staff and employees engaged through third-party contract work in the facility. We are trying to find out who all may have accessed the vessel,” a city police officer said. He said there was no CCTV on the premises.
Internal probe on
The CSL has not commented on the matter yet, though reports said the internal security wing of the shipyard has also launched an inquiry. Central investigation agencies are also likely to look into the matter considering the importance of the shipyard as a highly sensitive and strategically crucial facility. The CSL has been building and maintaining major naval assets, including warships and aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy.
Major security concerns had surfaced at the shipyard in recent years leading to cases and investigations. Last year, on-contract employees working at the shipyard’s Malpe division in Udupi were arrested for allegedly leaking sensitive naval information to Pakistani contacts.
Published – June 19, 2026 11:45 am IST
