Scottish national arrested for flying drone near Mumbai airport

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A 30-year-old Scottish national was arrested by the Santa Cruz police on Friday for flying a drone without permission. The accused, Tom Jauncey, is co-founder of the creative agency 'Beautiful Destinations' and had come to Mumbai to videograph the inauguration ceremony of a basketball ground in Matunga.

A police officer from Santacruz police chowky saw a foreign national flying a drone nearby. The officer informed his seniors, who reached the spot and hauled Jauncey to the police station. Senior Inspector Shriram Koregaonkar said, "He was flying a drone near the funnel area of Mumbai airport. During an inquiry we found that he did not have any permission to fly a drone, so, we arrested him."

The cops have also seized his drone for further investigation. During interrogation, the cops learnt that Jauncey had planned to videograph important tourist destinations in Mumbai.

However, there was nothing fishy found during preliminary investigation, said another officer who added, "Jauncey's profession is making videos across the globe which he sells. He was unaware that flying a drone is illegal in Mumbai and one needs to have permission from the authorities."

Permissions
Unmanned aircraft operated in India require an Unique Identification Number (UIN) which is issued from the DGCA. This is granted only to citizens of India, or a company or body that is registered and has its principal place of business in India, its chairman and 2/3rds of directors are citizens of India and its ownership and effective control is in the hands of Indian nationals.

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