In a first, police use unmanned aerial vehicle during HYC rally
By Aafaque Hussain
SHILLONG: Shillong Police on Monday went a step further when it came to use of technology for security reasons. A drone or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was seen hovering in the skies of Shillong on Monday during the “peaceful rally” organised by the Hynniewtrep Youth Council in the city.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, IGP (Law and Order) GHP Raju said that the drone was used for the first time by Shillong Police on Monday on an experimental basis to keep a tab on the crowd.
He felt that the drone will be of great help in keeping vigil on agitators besides traffic management.
According to Raju, at the moment, the East Khasi Hills SP has a mobile control unit where live visual feeds from the drone can be seen. He added that in the second phase, police plan to integrate the feeds of the drone to CCTV camera control centre which has been setup at Sadar police station.
“There is a committee to see the feasibility of the drones being used by the police and if it agrees, we would soon use more UAVs,” Raju said even as he added that there are certain challenges like hilly terrain and poor weather conditions which can become a hindrance in the use of drones in the city.
It may be mentioned that drones have been successfully tested by Lucknow police and are capable of throwing pepper spray on protestors from different heights besides the Muzaffarrnagar Police has used a drone to nab a thief who was at large after looting Rs 6 lakh from a trader.
