Three members of TMC social media team arrested for flying a drone near CM Mamata Banerjee’s helicopter

Three individuals working for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) social media campaign were detained by police after a drone flew dangerously close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s helicopter in Chanchal, Malda district.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon as Banerjee was boarding her helicopter in Malda after addressing a public rally in Malatipur. She was scheduled to fly to Gazole when the drone appeared directly in front of the aircraft. Banerjee herself noticed the drone, paused on the helicopter stairs, and looked up at the sky. She later expressed serious concern, stating, “If the drone had hit the helicopter while it was trying to fly, it would have crashed. Who is responsible for this? Police must find out who did this.”

According to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), no permission had been sought or granted to operate a drone in the airspace near Malda airport, where the helicopter was operating. Air Traffic Control is responsible for keeping the surrounding airspace clear during such flights.

Malda Police acted swiftly and detained the three men. One of the accused, identified as Nur Akhtar, admitted that the group had flown the drone and that they were working with TMC social media team. “Yes, we flew a drone… We are working on the TMC social media campaign… My associate flew the drone despite being told not to, just to get the best shot,” he said.

Nur Akhtar said that despite being told no, his associate flew the drone to capture good footage of the Chief Minister boarding the helicopter for the party’s social media campaign

Written by OpIndia Staff
Last modified at