Scottish national uses drone to take photos at Juhu beach, arrested

MUMBAI: The anti-terrorism cell (ATC) of Santacruz police station on Monday arrested a Scottish national for allegedly using a drone to click pictures at Juhu beach. The accused, Tom Jauncey, was using a camera fitted into a drone to click pictures of the beach when he was spotted by the police present there. The use of drones without permission from a competent authority is not permitted in the city.

“Our team at Juhu beach spotted Jauncey around 5:30pm. The police station was informed and a five-member team, comprising sub-inspector Ashwini Kumar Kagale, constable Azim Shaikh, Sagar Kamble, Vilas Chavan and Sushant Pawar, was dispatched to the spot,” said a police officer.

The police team confiscated the drone and informed the accused that it is not allowed. “He was not aware of the rules in the city and did not know he was breaking the law. We checked the equipment and raised an initial alarm was due to the proximity of the airport and other vital places,” the officer said.

A first information report (FIR) was registered under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. He was granted bail, but the drone and the camera were kept back at the police station.

Police said that Jauncey had arrived in the city that morning to film the inauguration of a basketball court in Matunga. He was staying at a hotel in Bandra and had come to Juhu beach in the evening to film a sequence to introduce the city.