Mumbai Crime: Drones help Central Railway catch thieves in railway yard

The drone has an operational range of 2 km and can fly up to 25 minutes

Drones flying over Central Railway's lines aptly called Ninja UAVs (unmanned air vehicles), are now catching thieves in action and helping in active surveillance. Two such criminals were apprehended on a real-time basis - one in Wadibunder Yard area and another in Kalamboli yard - while they were trying to commit theft inside a railway coach/wagon stationed in the yard.

"Drones act as eyes in the sky and monitor the whole area. Any suspicious activity if noticed is intimated to the nearest RPF post to apprehend the criminal live. Drone beats are designed across the division based on railway assets, sensitivity of area, activity of criminals, etc.," Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer Shivaji Sutar said.

He said a team of four RPF members has been trained and has obtained a licence for flying these drones. The drone has an operational range of 2 km and can fly for up to 25 minutes. Its take-off weight is up to 2 kg and can capture HD images at 1280x720 pixels during daylight and also has real-time tracking, video streaming and automatic failsafe mode.

"The main utility of drones has been mapping tracks, an inspection of railway assets and ensuring the safety of yards, workshops, car sheds etc, surveillance on criminal and anti-social activities in railway premises. It may include gambling, throwing of garbage, hawking etc and even crowd monitoring during critical situations, during festive seasons, etc," he added.

Four
Total no. of RPF staff trained to fly the drones

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