Pakistan violated Indian Airspace, used civilian planes as shield: MEA
New Delhi, May 9: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a detailed press briefing on Friday, said that Pakistan had carried out multiple airspace violations across India’s western border during the night of May 7 and 8, with the apparent intention of targeting Indian military infrastructure. These actions, which involved the use of hundreds of drones and heavy artillery, led to a calibrated and proportionate response from the Indian armed forces under "Operation Sindoor".
Airspace Violations Across Entire Western Border
Addressing the media, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said the Pakistani army violated Indian airspace several times, aiming to test Indian air defence capabilities and gather intelligence.
“On the night of May 7 and 8, the Pakistani army violated Indian airspace at multiple points across the entire western border. Around 300 to 400 drones were deployed to infiltrate at nearly 36 locations. Many of these drones were successfully intercepted and neutralised using both kinetic and non-kinetic measures,” she said.
Preliminary forensic investigations into the wreckage of the downed drones indicate that they were Turkish-origin Asisguard Songar models.
Use of Civil Airliners as Shields
In a serious revelation, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh accused Pakistan of deliberately endangering civilian lives by keeping its airspace open for civil aircraft even while launching unprovoked aerial attacks.
“Despite initiating a drone and missile assault on India at 8:30 pm on May 7, Pakistan chose not to shut its civil airspace. It is using civil airliners as shields, risking the lives of passengers aboard both domestic and international flights. In contrast, India declared an air defence alert and ensured its airspace was completely free of civil air traffic,” she said.
She added that flight radar data clearly showed civilian aircraft flying between Karachi and Lahore during the period when India’s airspace in Punjab sector was completely cleared as a precaution.
Indian Response and Damage to Pakistani Installations
India responded swiftly to Pakistan’s provocative actions. Armed drones were launched at four air defence sites in Pakistan, and one drone reportedly destroyed an air defence radar installation.
In addition to the air response, Pakistan also launched artillery shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), deploying heavy-calibre guns and armed drones. This led to casualties and injuries among Indian Army personnel. However, Pakistan’s military suffered significantly heavier losses during India’s retaliatory fire.
MEA Slams Pakistan’s Denial and Duplicity
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri strongly criticised the Pakistani establishment for its attempts to deny the attacks and shift the narrative.
“These provocative and escalatory actions taken by Pakistan targeted not only Indian military bases but also civilian infrastructure and cities. Despite this, Pakistan's official machinery has blatantly denied their involvement, which is yet another example of their duplicity and the new depths they continue to sink to,” he said.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
