Several flying objects that resembled drones were allegedly spotted in the vicinity of Fort William and the heart of Calcutta around 10.30pm on Monday, causing panic in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor when Pakistan sent drones across India’s northern borders.

Police received several reports from people who said they spotted these objects, and started a formal probe on Tuesday.

Indian Army’s Eastern Command has been alerted about the incidents. The army started a separate probe on Wednesday.

The spotting of unmanned aerial objects in Calcutta’s sky comes around a time when the military intelligence and their counterparts in the Intelligence Bureau and the National Investigation Agency are questioning YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on Monday for allegedly spying for Pakistan.

Last year, Jyoti visited the city at least twice and collaborated with several of Calcutta’s content creators. She travelled extensively from Sealdah to Howrah and Dum Dum to Liluah and documented everything she saw, some of which is available on her
YouTube channel, “Travel with Jo”, with 3.86 lakh subscribers.

Also, after the recent cross-border tension between India and Pakistan, there is a special scanner clicking pictures of vital installations.

Senior police officers said all military installations were under “No Drone Zones” according to a 2018 regulation set by the ministry of civil aviation.

Sources in Kolkata Police said on Monday night, these unmanned aerial objects were spotted flying past the Vidyasagar Setu, Hastings, Rabindra Sadan, the Victoria Memorial, Fort William and moving towards The 42, the skyscraper on Chowringhee Road, while covering the Maidan and Shakespeare Sarani police stations.

“It appears these objects flew in from parts of Mahestala and Behala on the city’s southern fringes and hovered in the night sky for nearly 20 minutes before disappearing on Monday night,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.

“The army has been informed about the development, and we have initiated a probe into this incident,” said the officer.

Sources in the Eastern Command said the army was equipped to handle drones flying over the headquarters without the necessary clearances, including “neutralising” unmanned aerial objects with short-range air defence systems. Senior officers said the Indian Army’s IGLA-S missile system was used to neutralise several Pakistani drones during Operation Sindoor.

“We have received reports of drone sightings over Calcutta and are investigating the matter. Efforts are underway to ascertain the veracity of the event. Once the facts are established, further information will be shared,” a spokesperson from the Eastern Command told The Telegraph.

“We need to understand first what was sighted because drones are not something that one gets to see every day,” he said.

In March 2019, a Chinese visitor, Li Zhiwei, who had arrived in Calcutta with a tourist visa from Malaysia, was arrested for allegedly flying a drone and capturing pictures of the Victoria Memorial.

A CISF personnel guarding the memorial spotted the 34-year-old flying a drone over the monument’s dome with his iPhone and alerted colleagues. The man was arrested for flying a drone in a prohibited area and violating the 2018 regulations set by the ministry of civil aviation.

The regulation defines “No Drone Zones” around “airports, near international border, Vijay Chowk in Delhi; state secretariat complex in state capitals, strategic locations/vital and military installations, etc.” and specifies the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) “for civil use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) commonly known as drones.”

Senior officers of Kolkata Police in Lalbazar said the officers-in-charge of all police stations across 10 divisions have been instructed to report if unmanned aerial objects are spotted flying under their respective jurisdictions in the aftermath of the incident. Sources said the divisional police commissioners would have to be immediately informed after any such sighting, and the OCs have been instructed.

Senior army officers said post Operation Sindoor all commands continue to remain in a state of heightened alert, and surveillance around the perimeter of the installations has been intensified with the help of local authorities, including police.
“We don’t want to publicly go overboard with the security mechanisms we have at
our disposal. The idea is to strike a balance,” a senior officer of the Eastern Command said.