Drone over Bhabha Atomic Centre sparks concerns

Mumbai: The police have launched a hunt for three persons who on Monday afternoon flew a remote controlled drone near the gate of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Trombay which has been earmarked as a restricted zone where photography is not allowed. The incident sparked security concerns in the area considering Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) located close to the area has been on the terror list since a long time.

According to Trombay police, the three persons came in a silver coloured Toyota vehicle with tourist registration MH-02 CR 1215 in the afternoon, and stopped near the main gate of the institute. They got down from the car and operated the drone using a remote control for a brief period.

The incident was noticed by a TIFR professor who alerted the police. The three then folded the drone, and kept the drone in the boot of the car and left the area. Police officials who have obtained CCTV footage of the entire incident registered an FIR late last night against unidentified persons. Prima facie it appears to be an employee of a popular house hunting website, who was taking visuals to update the website, said police sources. Sangramsinh Nishandar, deputy commissioner of police (Zone-6) said, “We are investigating the case, and a few details are awaited. We will provide specific information when the case is crystal clear.”