Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir police averted a cross-border terror plot by shooting down Friday a drone carrying improvised explosive device (IED) material weighing five kilograms. The drone was flying in the border belt of Jammu district, officials said. A quick reaction team (QRT) of the police got information about a drone flying over the border belt of Kanachak along the International Border (IB). They swung into action and shot it down using anti-drone strategy in the early hours of Friday, officials said.
“At about 1.00am, Friday the drone made a low flight to release the payload (IED), when it was shot down. So danger was averted,” ADGP Mukesh Singh told reporters here. He said the drone was carrying a payload of five-kg IED material in a semi-assembled state. Only wires had to be connected to it to trigger a blast.
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According to a preliminary analysis, the flying object was a hexa m-copter with six wings. It had a GPS device and a flight controller, the officer said. “A possible IED blast has been prevented,” Singh added.
There is a one-digit difference in the serial number of this drone and the drone shot down in Kathua last year. It points towards the fact that terrorist organisations across the border such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) have acquired flight controllers. They are sending drones with arms and IEDs to the Indian side, the ADGP informed. He said the drone shot down Friday was an assembled one. It was made up of equipment from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
According to the ADGP, the drone used in Kathua had entered 30 kilometres inside the border. The distance travelled by such flying objects depends on the weight of the payload. The drones that dropped consignments of AK-47 rifles earlier in the border areas had a range of 0-12 kilometres from the border.
The recoveries of weapons dropped from drones in the border areas over the last one-and-a-half years included 16 AK-47 rifles, four M4 US rifles, 24 pistols, 15 grenades and 18 IEDs, informed Singh. He added that currency notes were also seized.
Replying to a question, the officer said the IED material was well packed. Someone just had to pick it up from the Indian side and trigger a blast. “We waited for the person, but nobody came,” Singh stated.