In a first, the Tamil Nadu police have deployed Tether Copter, an aerial surveillance system developed by the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), as part of security arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore district on Friday.
The intensified security arrangements come in the backdrop of escalating threat perceptions of intelligence agencies during the visit of VVIPs to Coimbatore. Tamil Nadu police were put on alert to keep a close watch on the activities of “Muslim fundamentalists, their supporters and accused who are on bail and may pose a threat to the VVIPs.”
Besides two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the Tether Copter has been deployed to hover at an altitude of 100 metres. It can rotate up to 360 degrees and capture live images over a 2-km radius.
This is the first time that the Tether Copter has been put to use as part of VVIP security. Additional Director-General of Police (Law and order) J.K. Tripathy, Inspector-General of Police (Technical Services) M.C. Sarangan and a team of scientists from MIT are managing the serial security systems that are being monitored from a special control room established in the area, police sources said.
“We came across the Tether Copter being deployed for border security in Israel during a visit there recently. Our systems have been developed on those lines. It is very dependable, effective and secure when it comes to capturing images and data security. The Tether Copter can hover for four hours continuously and fly again after a 30-minute cooling period,” said K. Senthil Kumar, Director, Centre for Aerospace Research, MIT.
He said the venue of the Prime Minister’s visit was surrounded by thick forest and Tether Copter would help in crowd management and keeping a watch on the movement of unauthorised persons or suspicious activities. “The visuals are transmitted live to a control room where police and scientists work round the clock. The Tether Copter derives power from a vehicle stationed on the ground. It functions like an unmanned watch tower and the inbuilt camera can zoom down to a person or vehicle two km away,” Dr. Senthil Kumar told The Hindu .
Security intensified
Security has been intensified at the venue and vulnerable areas in Coimbatore following an alert from the Central and State intelligence agencies on the threat perceptions to Mr. Modi. A few thousand police personnel drawn from various units have been posted for security. Besides incidents of communal violence, Coimbatore and its suburbs were witness to a few Maoist activities in the recent months.
In May 2015, Rupesh, leader of the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee, his wife Shyna and two other Maoist cadre were arrested based on a tip-off by the Special Intelligence Bureau of the Telangana Police. Last year, armed Maoists reportedly visited villages bordering Kerala and appealed to voters to boycott the Assembly elections and even pasted posters demanding closing down of liquor shops owned by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC).
