Karnataka police became one of the first police departments in the country to own a UAV fleet, with the procurement of 12 drones. All the drones are currently operational in what is said to be the first phase of such an acquisition. The 12 drones and trained operators will be distributed among the districts of Koppal, Yadgir, Ballari, Bidar, Raichur and Kalaburagi districts,” said Bhaskar Rao, additional DGP, crime and technical services. The programme was partially funded by the regional commissioner, Kalaburagi. Each UAV costs Rs1.5 lakh. The Phantom 4 UAVs procured from South Korea can remain in the air for over 30 minutes and go up to heights of 1km. They are equipped with high definition 18.2 megapixel cameras, with night vision capability. The technology allows you to see what the Phantom sees 5km away. However, the only drawback is they are incapable of operating in heavy rain.
“When they were deployed in operations against sand mining, we masked the illuminated parts with tape, and with its night vision capability, were able to observe their activity without being noticed,” Rao added.
About 20 policemen have been trained to operate these drones, and been exclusively assigned to the task. The UAVs, which have night vision capability, have already helped cops detect sand mining along the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border, and are currently being used to monitor such activities. Bengaluru police have used UAVs in the past for crowd monitoring, while revenue authorities have used them during clearing of illegal constructions, but these were procured on rent. One of the challenges in using UAVs, especially in the northern parts of the state, is mobilizing drones and operators during contingencies.
