Panda called it a “brazen attempt to handicap my movement around Odisha but they can’t stop me”. Express Photo by Praveen Khanna.
The Puri police on Monday seized a helicopter used by former Kendrapara MP Baijayant Jay Panda and sealed the hangar where it is stored. The seizure comes following an FIR filed against the attempted landing of an aircraft over Chilika last week which is allegedly a “no-flying eco-sensitive zone”. The police have reportedly questioned officials from Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA) who operates the R-44 chopper.
Taking to Twitter, Panda called it a “brazen attempt to handicap my movement around Odisha but they can’t stop me”. Earlier on Saturday, Panda flew the chopper on the Bhubaneswar-Rajhans-Puri-Konark-Garadpur-Jagannthpur route, for which it had reportedly obtained necessary clearances from the authorities at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in the state capital.
THIS is whr i flew a helicopter on Sat to reach ppl in distress. & landed back at Bhubaneswar airport at the exact time the FIR alleges it “landed” in Chilika lake (chk ATC records)@odisha_police, yr illegal “seizure” of helicopter may slow me, but cant stop me from reaching ppl https://t.co/R4BzhcPweP
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) September 18, 2018
According to the FIR filed at the Marine Police Station at Arakhakuda (Puri) by an official with the Chilika Development Authority, the chopper’s presence had endangered the locals as well as the lake’s dolphin and fish population.
Pointing out inconsistencies in the allegations, Panda on Twitter said that while the FIR says the attempted landing was made at 1:30 pm on Saturday, flight records with BPI show his chopper reaching Bhubaneswar at 1:26 pm.
Answering whether the chopper deviated from its approved route, BPIA Director S C Hota said, “We do not have information on the matter. After 10-15 miles, we cannot track the flight (from Bhubaneswar)”.