Daijiworld Media Network - Jammu

Jammu, Sep 13: In a development raising fresh concerns over cross-border activities, Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday recovered a drone from Fattu Kotli village in the Akhnoor sector, close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu district.

Officials said the drone was found in an open field and an investigation is currently underway to determine its origin. Authorities are probing whether the device was flown from across the LoC, potentially for terror-related activity, or if it was a locally operated drone possibly used for filming events such as weddings.

This incident comes amid a larger backdrop of drone-based smuggling tactics often employed by terror handlers in Pakistan, who use drones to drop consignments of weapons, explosives, cash, and narcotics into Indian territory. These payloads are typically retrieved by overground workers (OGWs) — civilians who assist militant groups, either for financial gain or due to personal vendettas.

Security agencies have long noted that such drops are coordinated in advance between handlers across the border and operatives on Indian soil, posing a low-risk, high-impact threat to security forces and civilians alike.

The LoC and International Border (IB) span nearly 1,000 kilometers across Jammu and Kashmir, with the Army guarding the LoC and the Border Security Force (BSF) securing the IB, particularly in Jammu, Samba, and Kathua districts. In response to the rising drone threat, the BSF has deployed anti-drone systems that can detect, jam, or destroy drones mid-air — a move that has significantly reduced the frequency of such incursions.

Despite this, occasional incidents still occur, highlighting the ongoing challenge of cross-border drone surveillance and smuggling.

Further details are awaited as the investigation continues to trace the drone’s flight path and intended purpose.