Drone seen near Uddhav's Mumbai home; MMRDA says it was used for POD taxi project survey
Mumbai (PTI): A drone was spotted near former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's residence in Mumbai on Sunday, prompting the Shiv Sena (UBT) to allege possible "surveillance" in a high security zone under a "police-state action".
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), however, clarified that the UAV was used for a POD taxi project survey with police's permission.
In a post on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab demanded investigation by the police to identify the drone operator and the motive behind the aerial "filming". He also wondered if there was any "terrorist background" behind it.
"A drone was spotted hovering over 'Matoshree'. This raises serious concerns about a potential security breach in a high-security zone," the legislator claimed.
'Matoshree', located in Mumbai's Bandra area, is a heavily guarded residence of the Thackerays.
Parab said that flying a drone or filming with it in such a sensitive, high-security area without prior permission is a grave matter.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 8) Manish Kalwaniya, however, said the drone was part of a survey being conducted with the permission of the MMRDA in the nearby Bandra-Kurla Complex area.
"Please avoid misinformation," the DCP added to quell the speculation surrounding the sighting.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray alleged the drone was peeping into our window, which shows 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," the Sena (UBT) leader said.
He further questioned why the residents were not informed that the drone was part of a survey of the BKC with police permission.
The MMRDA, meanwhile, said the drone was used for a POD taxi project survey with prior permission of the police.
The drone exercise was conducted to aid a visual study of the approved alignment for the Personal Rapid Transit (POD) taxi project along Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), it said.
The authority had secured all necessary approvals from the police department on behalf of the concessionaire, and the survey, carried out over the past two days, was monitored by police personnel and officials concerned, it said.
Aaditya, however, sought to draw a comparison with the Election Commission's restrictions on releasing footage from voting booths to protect voter privacy.
"The drone operator was peeping into our window, and later the MMRDA says it was for the whole of BKC (Bandra-Kurla Complex). No other government agency globally would be able to justify such police-state actions under the name of 'survey," he added.
MMRDA maintained that all necessary permissions were obtained on behalf of the concessionaire from the Police Department, and every instruction issued by them was strictly adhered to.
The certified drone operator, whose background verification has already been submitted, adhered to all instructions issued by the authorities. The operation remained fully restricted to the permitted route without any deviation, the agency stated.
"The operation remained fully compliant and restricted to the approved alignment, with no breach or deviation at any stage," the MMRDA added.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
