Drone part of MMRDA-approved survey, say police
Mumbai, Nov 9: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab on Sunday claimed a drone was spotted hovering over ‘Matoshree’, the Mumbai residence of party head and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, and raised concerns about a potential breach in a high-security zone.
In a post on X, Parab said the police should investigate the matter, find out the identity of the drone operator and the motive behind the aerial “filming”. He also wondered if there was any “terrorist background” behind it.
Matoshree, located in Mumbai’s Bandra area, is a heavily guarded residence.
Parab said that flying a drone or filming with it in such a sensitive, high-security area without prior permission is a grave matter.
He demanded a detailed inquiry to determine the purpose behind the drone activity, identify the individuals responsible, and clarify the background of the incident to dispel public apprehension.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 8) Manish Kalwaniya, however, said the drone was part of a survey being conducted with the permission of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in the nearby Bandra-Kurla Complex area.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, meanwhile, termed the incident “shameful”, alleging that it reflected that the country was turning into a “surveillance state”.
In a post on X, he claimed the drone was seen hovering at window level until they began recording it, after which it flew away erratically.
“The drone surveillance of our house today is a shameful incident, yet doesn’t shock us, with the kind of surveillance state that we live in,” he said. “The drone hovered at our window level till we started video recording it, and then went erratically up and away when the operator realised we were recording it,” he wrote. (PTI)
