Maharashtra prisons department to use drones for surveillance

The Maharashtra State Prisons Department has decided to use drones to ensure security in prisons and monitor the movements of inmates, a senior official said.

In the first phase, drones will be deployed in 12 prisons -- eight central jails, two district jails and two open jails, Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) Amitabh Gupta said on Tuesday.

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"They will also be used for night-time surveillance. This will help in getting real-time updates on what is happening within prison premises," an official release said. The prisons which will use drones for surveillance include Yerawada (in Pune), Kolhapur, Nashik, Sambhaji Nagar, Taloja (Navi Mumbai), Thane, Amravati, Nagpur, Kalyan and Chandrapur, it said.

The use of drones for surveillance has been given priority under orders of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Maharashtra government, it added. Maharashtra would be the second state after Uttar Pradesh to use drones to strengthen prison security, the statement said.