Terror alert: Delhi police to ground drones in the capital

NEW DELHI: Days after an apparent radioactive drone landed on Japanese Prime Minister's office, intelligence agencies have alerted the Delhi Police about terrorist organizations planning a similar bid on the Indian capital, sources said.

Instructing the police department to take immediate measures to prevent any such attempt in the capital, the agencies have conveyed that groups like LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed have been planning to use unmanned aerial vehicles to carry out an attack.

This Republic Day, the agencies had warned of a strong possibility of an attack by a UAV or paragliders forcing the Delhi Police commissioner BS Bassi to brief officers to take steps in this connection.

Reacting to the alert, the police headquarters has now written to all district DCPs and has asked them to identify all sellers or individuals who rent out drones. A DCP, who did not wish to be named, confirmed the receipt of such a communique and said they were in the process of identifying and verifying the drone operators in their area. A report will be sent to police headquarters, he added.

Sources said the Delhi Police has been asked not to allow any unmanned aerial aircraft to be flown in the capital by private parties or film-makers etc without permission. Any such permission, if at all, will be granted after due verification of antecedents of the party concerned. Police too have been asked to exercise caution while using drones.

Drones have, of late, become popular in the capital circles and the police too have experimented with them at several stages. In fact, Trilokpuri riots were largely contained and the area sanitized with the help of drones which were flown to scan the terrace where stones and petrol bombs were stored by miscreants.

Last Dussehra, a Ramlila committee had hired 10 drones for 10 days from Jindal Photos at Rs 10,000 per day for each drone. However, police had denied them permission to fly the drone.



Civilian drones are small and unmanned flying vehicles usually fitted with cameras used for surveillance, recording and communication purposes. Most drones are less than two metre long and one meter in width and weigh less than two kilograms.

They fly at a speed of around 40 km/h, sources said. They are designed to cover an area of around 500 metre, and an average drone can fly up to 50 feet. They are controlled from the ground station through remote control.

Indian laws permit recreational usage of drones like toy helicopters with limited frequency, but flying of drones, per se, has been banned by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and a standing order was issued in this connection last year, sources said.