Two Arrested For Flying a Drone Near Mumbai Airport

Mumbai: A day after an IndiGo airline pilot reported spotting a drone near the city airport, police have arrested three persons who were responsible for flying the drone.

The trio were identified as Rahul Rajkumar Jaiswal (24), Rana Subhash Singh (25) and Vidhichand Jaiswal (45) were arrested by Crime Branch unit-11, police said. Earlier this week Ashish Ranjan, the pilot of an IndiGo Airlines flight from Dehradun, had told authorities that he spotted a drone some 100 metres below the aircraft, while landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at around 7.30 pm.

During investigation, it was revealed a drone camera was being used as part of preparations for a film shoot in Charkop area of Western suburbs. The actual film shoot was scheduled later, they said. The pilot’s information had led to a security alert.

Police seized the drone camera and an Apple iPad from the accused. “After all legal formalities accused and seized property was handed over to Charkop police station for further necessary action,” police said. Rahul and Rana were handling the camera, while Vidhichand runs a business of renting out drones, police said. Use of drones in Mumbai’s skies is prohibited due to security reasons.