A Chinese-made drone was seized within the high-security Bhopal Central Jail and thus probed by authorities said an official on Thursday. The black drone, which was fully charged and weighed approximately 30 to 40 grams, was spotted by a guard near the B-block of the prison between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, said jail Superintendant Rakesh Kumar Bangre.
The guard informed the authorities immediately of the incident, but no one could see the drone when it landed inside the jail compound. Initial observations indicate that the drone is likely to be owned by children many times around the prison; the origin and intent of the drone are still evolving. Since then, the device has been taken from the possession of the accused and handed over to the Gandhi Nagar police for further investigation.
Bhopal Central Jail is spread over 151 acres of area, and at present, it has 3,600 prisoners, which is way above its authorized strength of 2,600 prisoners. Out of these, 69 prisoners are housed in the high-security zone, and these include 32 persons who have been linked to the banned SIMI. This has made many people fear that there could be a security breach, although officials have not linked it to the drone or any immediate danger.
This structure has never lacked stories of major security breaches in the past. Eight undertrial prisoners from the SIMI attacked a prison guard and escaped from the prison in October 2016. They were subsequently eliminated by police in a shootout on the outskirts of Bhopal city while firing at security forces. This history has raised more questions about the discovery of the drone.
No statement was received from Bhopal Commissioner of Police HC Mishra when approached for this article But, obviously, authorities are not taking the issue lightly, especially given the highly sensitive security environment of the prison. The event has time and again brought into focus how imperative it has become to have stringent security protocols that cannot allow any unauthorized UAVs to encroach into the secured perimeter.
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