Drone-like object spotted over CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh

A drone-like object was spotted flying over a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Chhattisgarh's naxal-affected Sukma district, an official said on Saturday.

Similar light-emitting objects had been spotted flying near camps of CRPF in the district thrice in October last year.

A drone-like object was sighted for about 15 minutes in the sky over the Puswada camp of the CRPF on the highly-sensitive Dornapal-Jagargunda axis on Friday night, Sukma Superintendent of Police Shalabh Sinha told PTI.

"We launched our UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle or drone) to track its movement. However, the light of the suspected drone went off and it disappeared," he added.

The object was similar to those seen flying over security forces' camps in Kistaram and Pallodi area of the district in October, the SP said.

It was yet to be ascertained if Maoists were operating these drones, he added.

Sukma, around 400 km away from state capitalRaipur, is one of the worst naxal-hit districtsin the country and shares borders with Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

A senior police official posted in Bastar said there were reports that naxals were trying show their lower-rung cadres that they had access to hi-tech equipment in order to motivate them.

"Naxals need not use drones to find the layout of security forces' camps in their core areas," he said.

It was also unlikely that Naxals were using drones to keep a watch on the movement of security forces as drones can be shot down easily," the official said.

"But recently we have got inputs that naxals were showing video clips of police camps, which might have been recorded through drones, to their lower-rung cadres in some interior villages," he said.

The objective was to show their strength to the cadres and motivate them, the official added.

Flying drones over camps could also be intended to create a "psychological pressure" on the security forces, he said.