Menace in the sky: UP villagers chase drones with sticks & stones
BIJNOR: Just before dusk on Friday, a drone swooped low over Bulandshahr District Jail, hovered for several seconds, shifted its angle, and turned back. Within hours, aerial footage of the compound surfaced on social media.
By Saturday morning, the pilot was arrested, the drone seized, and police had filed charges for unauthorised flying and filming inside a protected no-fly, no-photography zone.
Bhupendra Singh, 25, has been charged under sections 223 (breach of peace) and 351(1) (acts endangering safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the IT Act, Prison Act, and Criminal Law (Amendment) Act. Though Singh's case appears procedural — cops say he's been identified as source of the footage — there is growing unease in the region.
What the law says
The sky, once carrying birds, now feels crowded. As night falls & power lines flicker, residents climb rooftops with torches, keeping watch for hours. Across villages in UP, people have begun mounting rooftop vigils, chasing away low-flying drones with torches, stones, and sharpened sticks as sightings multiply and suspicion deepens. For several nights before the jail airspace was breached, 'strange lights' were spotted drifting across districts encircling Bulandshahr — Bijnor, Moradabad, and Amroha.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Up to 70% off | Libas Purple Days Sale
Libas
Undo
Over rooftops and farms, between mango orchards and grain silos, blinking red and blue as they swept silently across villages after sundown.
No one knew who operated them, but everyone noticed. In Syohara (Bijnor), torches burned till dawn. In Chhajlat (Moradabad), someone fired a shot skyward. In Bukharipur, an e-rickshaw battery went missing hours after a drone was seen hovering overhead. In Dhabarsi and Ogarpur (Amroha), residents began drawing maps — not of fields, but of drone paths and power cuts.
'They stop above your house like they are measuring it,' said Brahampal Singh of Isapur Sharkee. In Rajoha, three young men filming reels were beaten by villagers who thought they were guiding drones for a robbery ring. In Adampur, a drone passed overhead one evening, later that night someone stole a two-wheeler battery. 'Maybe a coincidence, maybe a conspiracy,' said one resident. Police have said no theft has yet been conclusively linked to drones.
But across dozens of villages, the fear persists: someone is watching, and no one knows who. Bijnor SP Sanjeev Vajpayee said cops had stepped up night patrols, were tracking local drone sales, and scanning social media for flight footage. 'Some of this is probably mischief,' he said. 'But not all of it.' Apart from jail breach arrest, no other pilots have been identified, and no drones recovered. Yet in village after village, people keep looking up.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
7 minutes ago
- Hans India
Bengal migrant workers: Complaint against CM Mamata for social media post on harassment refuted by Delhi Police
Kolkata: BJP Lok Sabha member from Kanthi constituency in East Midnapore, Soumendu Adkhikari, on Tuesday, complained to Delhi Police against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of allegedly disseminating fake and provocative content on her social media handle on the issue of alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers from West Bengal in BJP-ruled states. Soumendu Adhikari is the younger brother of Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari. His complaint was about a video shared by the Chief Minister on the wall of her official X handle on Sunday, where she accused the Delhi Police of harassing and torturing a Bengali-speaking migrant family there. The Chief Minister shared the video and claimed that a child and his mother, who belong to a migrant family from West Bengal's Malda district, were allegedly beaten up by the police in New Delhi. In a written complaint with the Cyber Crime Branch of Delhi Police, a copy of which is available with IANS, Soumednu Adhikari asked the police to register an FIR against the Chief Minister under relevant Sections of the IT Act and take appropriate legal actions against her in accordance with law. "I am writing this letter to lodge a formal complaint against Smt. Mamata Banerjee, the Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal, for the deliberate dissemination of false, fabricated, and communally charged content via her official social media handle, with the intent to malign the image of the Delhi Police, provoke public discontent, and stoke inter-community disharmony," read the letter. Adhikari said that the incident not only undermined the rule of law but also damaged the inter-state and inter-community harmony, and the faith of citizens in law enforcement. On Monday, the Delhi Police called the video "fabricated" and "politically motivated." Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Abhishek Dhania said that after a thorough investigation and enquiry, the Delhi Police have concluded that the entire video was baseless and fabricated. 'This video has been deliberately circulated on social media to tarnish the image of the Delhi Police. Further investigation is still going on," Dhania said on Monday. Soon after the rebuttal from Delhi Police, BJP's Information Technology Cell Chief and the party's central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, slammed Mamata Banerjee and accused her of spreading fake news.
New Indian Express
7 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Suspended IAS officer in Kerala raises fresh allegations against Chief Secretary Jayathilak
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tussle within Kerala's IAS top brass has taken a new turn with suspended IAS officer Prasanth N charging fresh allegations against Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak, accusing of file tampering and document fabrication in the State's e-office system. In a strongly worded Facebook post, Prasanth alleged that backend manipulation of official e-office accounts was being carried out to illegally access files and suppress dissenting opinions. He claimed that on March 12, 2024, he first caught Jayathilak in the act of manipulating documents and has now released what he describes as proof to back his charges. According to Prasanth, forged documents were being used to make it appear as though officers had seen and cleared files, which they never actually handled. He said this not only amounted to blatant violation of the IT Act - a cognizable offence - but also undermined transparency in key decisions involving crores of rupees. Prasanth has been under suspension since November 2024 after making similar allegations against Jayathilak, who at that time was serving as the Additional Chief Secretary. More recently, on July 22, the state government appointed a two-member panel to probe complaints raised against Prasanth. With his latest salvo, sources say the inquiry panel now faces a tougher challenge.
Time of India
19 minutes ago
- Time of India
Bizman confesses to plotting murder of niece's husband
Gaya: A 65-year-old businessman from Aurangabad has confessed to orchestrating the contract killing of his niece's husband, just weeks after the couple's marriage. Police said the victim, 30-year-old Priyanshu, was killed on June 24, barely six weeks after his wedding on May 10 with no known enmity, making the case all the more disturbing. According to Aurangabad DSP Sanjay Pande, who headed the special investigation team, the accused, Jivan Singh, was arrested by Rajasthan police from Sawai Madhopur based on inputs from Aurangabad police. He has been remanded in judicial custody. Singh, police said, was in a long-standing relationship with his niece Gunja, Priyanshu's wife, and both are now in jail. Two contract killers were allegedly hired for Rs 10 lakh and instructed to ensure Priyanshu's death. "He was shot four times at point-blank range while returning from Varanasi," an officer said. A sum of Rs 2 lakh was paid in advance. Police are still searching for the two shooters. Priyanshu was killed between his village Barwan and Nabinagar railway station. He was returning from Varanasi where he had gone to see his sister. In total, four people have been arrested – the uncle and niece and two others accused of providing logistical support, including sim cards. Singh, during interrogation, described the planning in detail. The affair allegedly began over a decade ago when Gunja, then a minor, stayed at his house during a family member's pregnancy. Despite her recent marriage, the relationship allegedly continued. Her cellphone was seized several times by her family and husband, but Singh provided new handsets each time. Police have recovered cellphones, photographs and other incriminating evidence.
