A China-made drone was discovered inside the high-security Bhopal Central Jail, leading authorities to initiate an investigation, an official reported on Thursday.
A prison guard near the B-block building noticed the black drone, which was charged and weighed approximately 30–40 grams, between 3:30 pm and 4 pm on Wednesday, according to jail superintendent Rakesh Kumar Bangre.
No one witnessed the drone entering the premises, but it is suspected to belong to children playing near the jail, Bangre stated.
The prison, spanning 151 acres, houses 3,600 inmates, exceeding its capacity of 2,600, another official noted. Among them are 69 high-security prisoners, including 32 linked to the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Bangre added.
The drone was handed over to Gandhi Nagar police, who have begun probing the incident. “The recovered China-made drone was charged, and investigations are underway,” Bangre said.
Attempts to contact Bhopal Commissioner of Police HC Mishra for further details were unsuccessful.
Bhopal Central Jail gained attention in November 2016 when eight undertrial prisoners associated with SIMI killed a prison guard and escaped. They were later shot dead by police after firing at security personnel on the outskirts of the city.
