A foreign tourist stirred the local intelligence unit of the police into action in Joshimath by flying a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and taking photographs in this border area. Though the police believe the tourist was flying the UAV for recreational purposes, the lIU personnel took the equipment and deleted photographs taken by it.
A foreign tourist visiting the Shankaracharya Math here flew the small remote controlled unmanned drone at about 8 am. Many residents of Joshimath saw the drone in flight and some also filmed it using their mobile phones. It should be noted here that being the last prominent town near the Indo-Tibet border in this region, Joshimath is of strategic importance with an army brigade and ITBP battalion being posted here.
Though flying a UAV without permission in such a strategically important are might be considered a serious violation, the local police believe that the foreigner tourist had flown the UAV only for recreational purpose. The Joshimath police station in charge Harendra Singh Bisht said that lIU personnel had taken the UAV and deleted photographs from it.
Though the tourist had permission to operate the drone in Gangotri, no such permission had been granted for operating it in Joshimath area, he added.
However, observers point out that a foreign national
flying an UAV and
taking photographs in a strategically sensitive area without permission should be taken more seriously.