Punjab: 10 drones recovered near international border in 23 days

Sharp rise in drone capturing along border in Punjab after the high-level coordination meeting between BSF and Punjab Police

There has been a sharp rise in drone capturing along the international border in Punjab after the high-level coordination meeting between the top officials of border security force (BSF) and Punjab Police to tackle the threat of aerial smuggling from Pakistan.

This has been the highest-ever number of drones shot down by the BSF in a month. (File photo)

At least 10 drones have been recovered near the Punjab border in the past 23 days (from May 20 to June 12). This has been the highest-ever number of drones shot down by the BSF in a month.

On May 17, first high-level meeting between the top officials of the BSF and Punjab Police was organised in Amritsar sector. The main agenda of the meeting was to increase coordination between both the security forces to tackle the threat of drones being used for smuggling by Pakistan.

Punjab Police’s special director general of police (DGP) Arpit Shukla and BSF’s Punjab frontier inspector general (IG) Dr Atul Fulzele had jointly chaired the meeting.

The latest incident was reported on Monday morning when a Pakistan drone — DJI Matrice 300 RTK — was recovered near Saidpur Kalan village of Amritsar. The drone was found in a broken condition.

In total, 20 drones have been recovered by the BSF from the Punjab border this year so far. In 2022, the BSF had recovered 22 drones from the Punjab border. However, only one drone was shot down by the BSF in 2021.

Smuggling of drugs, arms, ammunition and explosives via drones was first noticed in 2019 and the trend of aerial smuggling increased with the passing of time.

Punjab Police and BSF officials see their increased coordination, public involvement and updated technology behind more success in gunning down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). All 10 drones recovered recently have been in Amritsar sector alone. Two of the drones were recovered on the basis of information provided by Punjab Police.

“We have adopted a special technology, but can’t disclose it,” said a senior BSF official, who wished not to be quoted. He also cited their increased coordination with other security agencies, including Punjab Police, and public support behind the reasons of gunning down of more drones in the recent days.

A Punjab Police official, who is posted in the border areas of Amritsar, said, “The BSF is also using Automated Targeting System (ATS) in Amritsar sector.” He, however, didn’t disclose how the system works.

Punjab Police deputy inspector general (DIG-border range) Narinder Bhargaw said, “It has been around a month since we have activated our Drone Emergency Response System (DERS). Under the system, we have made village-level defence committees (VLDCs) in 106 border villages of four border districts — Amritsar, Batala, Gurdaspur and Pathankot. The system notifies the concerned VLDCs to immediately cordon-off the area where any drone movement is noticed, so that no smuggler can collect the air-dropped contrabands. Each VLDC contains 20 members and two specially-trained village-level police officials (VPOs).”

“We have also made WhatsApp groups of all VLDCs. Our VPOs are also a member of the groups. The primary duty of the group members is to keep a strict watch on the movement of drones in their village. As soon any member notices any movement of a flying object in the area, an alert is sounded in the group. The group members immediately cordon-off the area where the drone is seen or its sound is heard. The VLDC members also inform BSF. Similarly, our VPOs also reach the site to shoot down the drone.”

The DIG said they are working to implement the system in all border villages of the state.

The coordination between the security agencies, including between Punjab Police and BSF, was first stressed by Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit during his visit to border areas. The governor has conducted four visits to border villages in the past one year.

Most of the drones which have been recovered this year are DJI Matrice 300 RTK (Real-Time Kinematic), of a Chinese company. Matrice 300 RTK, which has maximum 55 minutes of flight time, works with advanced AI capabilities. It is also capable of spying, for it can record live actions, besides clicking high definition pictures.

Sources said cases of recovery of heroin dropped by drones has also gone up in the Amritsar sector.