An unidentified flying object, that could possibly be a drone, over a naval base area in coastal Chennai triggered a security alert. The object was spotted on Monday night at around 9.00pm, and the incident took place near INS Adyar campus, close to Napier Bridge in Chennai.
According to reports, the drone was flying too low to be registered by the naval base radar and was flying too high to be caught on CCTV cameras fixed on the ground in the area. The Navy on Tuesday lodged a formal complaint with the police to investigate further.
The Fort police are currently examining CCTV footage in the area to check if any of the parked vehicles within 200 to 1000 metres range of the bridge, could have acted as a control centre for the flying object.
This comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the Balakot air strike.
The Indian Air Force, early on February 26, carried out a pre-emptive air strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror training camp in Balakot, which is located in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa area. Following this, the Pakistan Air Force violated Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Nowshera sectors, a day later.
In the wake of this surcharged atmosphere, security forces have increased vigilance across the country.
On Monday, Indian Air Force shot down a drone, after it was detected over the Indo-Pak International Border in Rajasthan. IAF radars detected the drone's presence in Indian airspace at around 11.30 am.
In 2015, Chennai police had made it compulsory for persons wanting to fly drones, to obtain prior permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the city police.