PUNE:
Three tourists from Telangana and Hyderabad were booked by the Lonavla city police for allegedly flying a drone in the highly restricted and sensitive Air Force Station zone in Lonavla city, officials said on Tuesday. The complaint against the trio was lodged by corporal Vivek Kumar Vijay Tiwari, an Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, in the afternoon on Monday following which, action was taken by the police.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Tiwari was stationed as a guard at the main gate when a person approached him and informed that some persons were flying a drone in the restricted air force area, and conducting an aerial shoot at around 1.05 pm. Tiwari stepped out of the air force area onto the road outside, and saw a person flying a drone with a remote control and shooting the restricted area at one end of the road. Tiwari ordered the person to stop the aerial activity and bring down the drone and confiscated the machine, the FIR stated. At that time, two other persons rushed to the spot only to be informed that it was a ‘no drone zone’ and that they were carrying on an unauthorised activity right in front of an IAF information board which stated that drone shooting in the area was banned.
The three were taken to the guard room and identified as Balkrushna Viresham Muntha, 29, a resident of Kisra Medchal in Telangana; K Dinesh K Anand, 29, a resident of Kapra in Hyderabad; and Tanis Tilak Teja Sriniwasa Rao, 35, a resident of Uppal in Hyderabad. Tiwari then informed his senior, assistant security officer S K Gupta, about the incident but before that, the memory card containing the video had been removed. The IAF staffer in his complaint stated that the trio had no permission either from the rural police or the district collector’s office to conduct drone shooting in the area.
{{/usCountry}}The three were taken to the guard room and identified as Balkrushna Viresham Muntha, 29, a resident of Kisra Medchal in Telangana; K Dinesh K Anand, 29, a resident of Kapra in Hyderabad; and Tanis Tilak Teja Sriniwasa Rao, 35, a resident of Uppal in Hyderabad. Tiwari then informed his senior, assistant security officer S K Gupta, about the incident but before that, the memory card containing the video had been removed. The IAF staffer in his complaint stated that the trio had no permission either from the rural police or the district collector’s office to conduct drone shooting in the area.
{{/usCountry}}The FIR was filed under sections 188 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 on Monday. Lonavla city police station in-charge, Sitaram Dubal, said, “We have booked three tourists from Telangana and Hyderabad for flying drones in the restricted air force area. Currently, they have been issued notice and their statement will be recorded. The trio will be produced before the court during the afternoon.”
Earlier on September 16, 2021, an unidentified drone was sighted flying over the area between the unit main gate and the Indian Naval Station (INS) Shivaji site in Lonavla, a premier defence training establishment categorised as a ‘no flying’ zone. A youth was booked in connection with the incident, and he too turned out to be a tourist. According to the home ministry, flying drones in the area of the defence installation is in violation of the drone policy of the ministry.
Key features of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s (MoCA’s) drone rules
In March 2021, the MoCA published its unmanned aircraft system (UAS) rules. Based on feedback, the government replaced the UAS rules with the new drone rules.
The yellow zone has been reduced from 45km to 12km from the airport perimeter.
No remote pilot licence is required for micro drones (non-commercial) and nano drones.
No security clearance is required before issuance of any registration/licence.
No type certificate, unique identification number, or remote pilot licence is required by the R&D entities operating drones on their own or on rented premises, located in a green zone.
No restriction on foreign ownership of Indian drone companies.