Pak drone loaded with magnetic bombs and grenades shot down in Kathua

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, police on Sunday shot down a Pakistani drone carrying seven magnetic bombs and as many UBGL grenades in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police officer said.

Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh said the drone was shot down by a police party in Talli Hariya Chak area of Rajbagh shortly after it crossed over to the Indian side from across the International Border.

This is the third Pakistani drone with a payload of arms and ammunition being shot down by the forces in Jammu sector since June 2020.

Singh said a police search party picked up the movement of the drone in the morning and fired at it.

The bomb disposal squad, called to inspect its payload, found seven magnetic bombs and an equal number of grenades compatible with Under Barrel Grenade Launchers (UBGL) attached to it.

He said police search parties were being regularly sent to the area because of the frequent drone activity from across the border.

“The police party noticed a hexacopter drone and shot it down. Experts are on their way from Jammu to decipher the writing on the two batteries of the drone which we believe is Chinese (language),” Senior Superintendent of Police, Kathua, Ramesh Kotwal told reporters at the scene.

He said over the past six to eight months, the police contingents have been carrying out early morning anti-tunnelling, anti-drone and border sanitisation activities as part of heightened security arrangements, especially in view of the upcoming Amarnath Yatra.

The SSP requested the border residents to immediately bring to the notice of the police any suspicious object or movement to ensure the overall security of the region.

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