Nepal nationals held over drone flight near Darjeeling border post.... The arrests came after a complaint by an SSB jawan

Vivek Chhetri, TT, 19.02.20, Darjeeling: Ten Nepal nationals have been arrested after Sashastra Seema Bal personnel guarding the border at Kalpokhri in Darjeeling district found a drone hovering near their outpost in the Indian territory.

Kalpokhri is about 52km from Darjeeling and situated at 10,400ft.

Sources said an SSB jawan manning the Nepal frontier had noticed a drone hovering near an international pillar close to the force’s border outpost and well within the Indian territory around 10.30am on Sunday. The SSB then apprehended 10 Nepali citizens.

A written complaint was lodged with Sukhiapokhri police station on Monday, after which the 10 were arrested.

“The Nepal nationals could neither produce the drone’s licence nor any training certificate,” said a police source.

The chief judicial magistrate’s court in Darjeeling on Tuesday remanded the 10 in jail custody for a week. “The case has also been handed over to the forest department as the crime was committed inside the Singalila National Park,” assistant public prosecutor Pankaj Prasad said.

The police seized the drone, along with a remote controller and a memory card.

The accused have been booked for endangering life, negligent conduct with respect to machinery, wilfully flying an aircraft in such a way that it may case danger to any person (section 11/11 of Air Craft Act 1934) and under various sections of the Wildlife Act.

A source said the Nepalese citizens had also violated guidelines and notification of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. “The DGCA makes it mandatory for all aerial vehicles, including drones, to be registered on the digital sky portal. Besides, they must have permits also,” said a source.

“During interrogation, the accused have confessed that they used the drone within the Indian territory,” said a source. The police and the foresters are trying to ascertain the motive behind the act, said the source.