Indian military personnel engaged a drone believed to be from Pakistan that had intruded into airspace near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. The incident occurred late Saturday night, with the drone briefly hovering over Indian territory before retreating into Pakistan. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, despite a thorough search of the Kheri area, troops did not find any suspicious objects on the ground.
Officials have expressed ongoing concerns about the potential use of drones by anti-national elements to smuggle arms and drugs into India. However, they were reassured that security forces were well prepared to counter such threats, the report added.
In a related incident, another flying object with flashing lights was observed near Allappir area of Poonch district during the night between Saturday and Sunday. According to an HT report, police and security forces jointly searched the area but found nothing.
BSF recovers Chinese drone in Punjab
The Border Security Force (BSF) in Punjab’s Amritsar district has recovered a Chinese-made DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone. The discovery was made in the harvest field of Havelian village following a tip-off from the BSF intelligence wing, the report further added.
“On May 12, 2024, based on information about the presence of a drone in the border area of Amritsar district, BSF troops immediately launched a massive search operation in the suspected area,” a BSF Punjab Frontier statement said. The operation culminated with the successful recovery of the drone at around 5:35 p.m.
This incident followed closely on the heels of another drone-related event in the same area where a drone was used to transport packets of suspected heroin. According to HT, this earlier incident occurred on May 11, when security personnel observed the drone during the night and prompted immediate response.
“At around 11:40 p.m., BSF forces successfully recovered one small drone and one bag of suspected heroin in front of the border security fence in a farmland in Havelian village, Amritsar district,” a BSF spokesperson said. reported. Weighing approximately 498 grams, it was wrapped in yellow adhesive tape and equipped with a torch and nylon loop. The drone involved in both incidents was identified as a Chinese-manufactured quadcopter, model DJI Mavic 3 Classic.
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Published: May 13, 2024, 6:24 AM IST