Naxals in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district are using drones to keep an eye on the movement of police, a senior official said on Friday.
Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles have been sighted near armed outposts and sub-police stations along the state’s border with Chhattisgarh in the last few months, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Gadchiroli range) Sandip Patil told news media.
The rebels use these devices for surveillance of police movement, he said.
In the last two days, drones were sighted at Pipripata area of Gondia district and Venkatapur in Gadchiroli district, he said.
The police are taking counter measures as per the Union government’s standard operating procedure to deal with such threat, the DIG said.
The drones being used by the Naxals are not advanced machines but are like those used for video shooting at weddings, Patil said.
As per the preliminary probe, they are being sourced from Hyderabad, he said.