A group of wedding guests who flew into Andhra Pradesh in a helicopter have landed in trouble with the police, as they did not have prior permission from district authorities. The wedding guests had landed in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district without prior permission of the local administration two days ago. "It happened two days back. They did not take the local district administration permission before landing. Ideally they should have taken the permission," Nellore Superintendent of Police (SP) Bhaskar Bhushan told IANS.
The helicopter was carrying the family of a former aviation official from Hyderabad and used the grounds of a government school as a helipad for landing, Bangalore Mirror reported. Police have reportedly booked eight persons, including those who travelled in the helicopter, the operator of the helicopter and the headmaster of the school for allowing the landing.
As the landing was unauthorised, police booked a case under Sections 280 (Rash navigation of vessel), 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), 180 (Refusing to sign statement) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Though it is illegal to land in a district without the local administration's permission, the district police is checking with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) whether a helicopter can land without permission or not. SP Bhushan said the chopper flew in two senior citizens and a few more people to a local wedding near Ananthasagaram mandal.
Ramakoteshwar Rao, a film producer from Hyderabad, was said to be one of the persons who arrived in the chopper. According to The Hindu, Rao is also a former aviation officer. According to SP Bhushan, anybody wishing to arrive in a helicopter has to write to the District Collector or the Superintendent of Police as a standard practice, who will do the needful to give the permission.
Meanwhile, SP Bhushan apprised the DGCA about the landing orally before following up in writing.
IANS inputs