Aqzar Raheel
Ganderbal, December 8(SM):
Police in Ganderbal have identified and charge-sheeted two Srinagar residents in connection with a drone flown over a restricted stretch of the Amarnath Ji Yatra route earlier this year an area designated as a strictly enforced No Flying Zone under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines.
According to officials, security personnel brought down the drone using soft-kill technology after it was detected over a notified high-security sector of the Yatra corridor. The annual pilgrimage has long been considered a sensitive security exercise, with unmanned aerial activity barred across the entire route.
An FIR (No. 26/2025, under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) was registered at Police Station Gund soon after the incident. Acting on directions from SSP Ganderbal Khalil Ahmad Poswal (JKPS), a technical team conducted a forensic analysis of the seized drone to access its operational data and flight logs.
The examination, officials said, led investigators to Owais Muneer Khan of Sanat Nagar and Farooz Ahmad Nengroo of Munwar-Abad, Khanyar. Both have been accused of operating the drone without mandatory clearances in a heavily restricted zone.
Police said the two have been arrested, produced before the court, and formally charge-sheeted.
While authorities maintain that the action underscores enhanced surveillance around this year’s Yatra, the incident also highlights the continued challenges of monitoring low-altitude drone activity along the multi-layered security grid of the pilgrimage route.
The Ganderbal Police said they remain committed to enforcing no-fly regulations and ensuring that security protocols around the Amarnath Ji Yatra are not compromised.(SM)
