‘Mystery choppers’ scare Dahanu locals

The villagers panicked, fearing an impending terror attack

For two days in a row, the fishermen of Bordi, Dahanu witnessed two unidentified helicopters hovering over their village. One of them stopped mid-air at a close range to take photographs of the village, said Aniruddh Patil, a villager.

One of the helicopters seen hovering over Bordi for two days last week. (Aniruddh Patil)

The villagers panicked, fearing an impending terror attack, and informed the Gholwad police.

“The terror strikes in Kashmir were fresh in our minds, so we thought an attack was in store. I alerted the cops,” said Patil.

The police later identified the choppers as belonging to the Coast Guard, which was conducting an aerial survey of jetties from Daman in Gujarat to Sindhudurg and other areas along the west coast.

“There was no need to panic, but we appreciate the locals’ awareness in reporting any movements - on land, sea or air,” said Durgesh Shelar, assistant police inspector, Gholwad police.