According to the reports on Tuesday (18 February), a drone was shot down at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir premises in Uttar Pradesh amidst a large crowd of devotees, leading to suspicions of a conspiracy to cause a stampede. The police have lodged a case, and intelligence agencies have been alerted due to the seriousness of the incident. This is the second such occurrence within a week, raising concerns about the safety of the devotees and the security of the temple.
The drone fell in a restricted area near the duty point batching plant on Monday morning (17 February, local time), far from the crowd. However, police believe it was deliberately flown into the temple premises during a busy time when many devotees were visiting for darshan-puja. The authorities suspect the intent behind this act was to incite panic among the crowd, potentially leading to a deadly stampede.
This recent incident follows a similar one on Monday (10 February) when a drone was dropped near the Darshan Marg, prompting a report by the in-charge of the Ram Janmabhoomi police outpost. In both cases, the drones were seized by the security forces, who have heightened their vigilance due to the ongoing threats. With the large number of people arriving from the Maha Kumbh, the risk of a stampede was especially high.
The police have stated that the drone camera’s fall in such a sensitive area could have resulted in significant harm if the situation had escalated. Authorities are now working to identify the perpetrators behind these actions, as the threat of further incidents remains. Security forces are taking immediate steps to ensure that similar occurrences do not disrupt the peaceful gathering of devotees at the Ram Mandir.
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