Protesters in violence-torn Manipur have begun aerial monitoring of forces amid the government’s push for the method to disperse crowds and maintain the law and order situation in the state.
According to a top government official, protesters are using drones to monitor the movement of forces, number of troops and crowds on the other side.
There have been multiple instances of forces noticing the movement of unknown and illegal drones by protesters, especially near the buffer zone.
Sources said shoot at sight orders have already been given to the forces with respect to drones and they have also tried to shoot down the flying objects but without any success so far.
Sources said the drones were found flying especially during night hours to monitor movement of forces that have been deployed to maintain law and order in the state.
A senior official deployed in Manipur said protesters are using drones to know the extent of forces deployed on the other side of the buffer zone, number of people gathered there, vehicles of the forces etc. “It is expected that these are high-quality drones normally used for high resolution photography and videography. We have received reports from ground commanders that a UAV was noticed flying near buffer zones. We have already asked forces to shoot down such drones,” a top government official told News18.
The Centre has, in addition to the existing companies, been providing additional companies of CAPFs to the state from May 3. According to an official figure, 124 additional companies of CAPFs and 185 columns of Army/Assam Rifles are presently deployed in Manipur in addition to the local police.
A Unified Command comprising representation from all the security forces and civil administration under the chairmanship of Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh has also been established. The focus is on intelligence gathering in collaboration with the civil administration to restore normalcy in the conflict zone. A total of 13,782 people have been detained/bound down for violating curfew and other laws.
The government is also working on a proposal for aerial monitoring using drones to prevent any crowd gathering and ensure swift action to disperse crowds. Gatherings will be video-recorded to ensure law breakers are apprehended at the earliest.