ALISTER AUGUSTINE
PUNE, OCT 10
Pune: Vishrambaug police have registered a second case against five people, including Youth Congress state president Shivraj More, for allegedly operating a drone without permission to film the agitation near SM Joshi Bridge in Navi Peth during the visit of CJP leader Abhijit Dipke and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
The first information report (FIR) was registered at 1.56 am on Saturday (Oct 10) against photographer Digambar Bharat Khare, More, Pramod Patil, Hrishikesh Gangurde and Akshay Kamble under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant.
According to the complaint filed by police head constable Yuvraj Bharat Tele, the incident occurred around 7.30 pm on Oct 5, when he was deployed at the protest site. Tele allegedly noticed a drone flying over the gathering and traced its operator, Khare, to an open space behind the protest venue. He subsequently informed senior police inspector Navnath Jagtap and police sub-inspector Kudale, who were also deployed there.
The FIR states that Khare allegedly told police he did not have permission from the local police to operate the drone and was filming on the instructions of Patil, More, Gangurde and Kamble. Police directed him to bring the drone down and seized a DJI drone camera valued at approximately Rs40,000 and its remote controller worth Rs10,000.
The equipment was sealed after a seizure panchnama was prepared in the presence of two witnesses. Khare was subsequently asked to produce documents establishing permission for the operation but allegedly failed to do so. Police sub-inspector Shobha Teli is investigating the case.
The latest FIR comes a day after Vishrambaug police registered another case against 15 people in connection with alleged violations during the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) protest. The earlier case was filed over alleged unauthorised activities at the agitation site amid continuing protests over aspirants' demands for transparency in recruitment and action against alleged irregularities.
