Pune police book five for flying drone without permission at MPSC protest

Pune police have registered a fresh case against five people for flying a drone and filming without permission during the students' agitation at S. M. Joshi bridge, where protesters are demanding the resignation of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) chairman. The case has been registered at Vishrambaug police station.

According to police, a case under Section 224 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered against drone operator Digambar Bharat Khare, along with Shivraj More, Pramod Patil, Rushikesh Gangurde and Akshay Kamble.

The incident took place at around 7.30 pm on October 5. While the agitation was under way near S. M. Joshi bridge, police noticed a drone flying in the sky for which no permission had been obtained. Police constable Yuvraj Tele, who was deployed at the protest site to gather intelligence, went to the rear and found Digambar Khare standing near a generator, operating the drone with a remote.

Questioning revealed that no legal permission had been taken to fly the drone. It also emerged that the filming was being done at the behest of the accused Pramod Patil, Shivraj More, Rushikesh Gangurde and Akshay Kamble.

Police seized a DJI drone camera worth about Rs 40,000 and a remote controller worth Rs 10,000 from the spot, making a total of Rs 50,000 worth of equipment.

Police had asked for official permission and documents to be produced, but these were not submitted. The case was then registered on October 10. Women's sub-inspector Shobha Teli is investigating the case further.

This is the second case registered against students during the widely discussed MPSC agitation. It has caused a stir among competitive examination aspirants and at the political level as well. While the students are fighting for their demands, legal action has now followed them, adding to their difficulties.