Drone made by Chinese firm recovered from Maoist hideout in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, a first

Found near a security camp in Metaguda village, the drone is suspected to have been used for air surveillance and capturing movement of forces.

Representational image of a DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone recovered by BSF from the border area of Amritsar | X/@BSF_Punjab

New Delhi: Security forces have recovered a drone made by Chinese firm DJI from a Maoist hideout in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, ThePrint has learnt. 

The drone, found near a security camp in Sukma district’s Metaguda village by a joint team of Chhattisgarh Police and Central Reserve Police Force, is believed to have been used for air surveillance and capturing movement of forces. 

Sources in the security establishment told ThePrint that while there have been several inputs about the spotting of drones in the Maoist stronghold—including during anti-Naxal operations in Gariaband district in which wanted Maoist commander Chalapathi and 16 others were killed—Sunday’s recovery was the first such instance.

“It is a significant revelation that could offer new clues about unexplored launching pads of the Maoists and supplies of these technologies for the Maoists when a decisive battle is being fought on the ground,” an official in the security establishment told ThePrint.

Made by Chinese firm DJI, which is a dominant player in the drone industry, the drone was recovered in a damaged state. It is being sent to the Drone Forensic Laboratory, operated by the Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi. 

The laboratory, established in 2022 by the Ministry of Home Affairs, analyses the location of launching, landing and number of sorties conducted.

This discovery comes at a time when the security forces have launched an unprecedented campaign against Maoists in the Bastar region, in tandem with the ambitious goal of eradicating violent Naxalism from India by March 2026, set by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. 

After inflicting unprecedented casualties on Maoists last year, killing 217 of their top cadres in as many as 123 encounters, forces have killed at least 65 of their cadres in the Bastar region alone so far this year. Additionally, 929 others were arrested and 419 cases were lodged in 2024.

“This is the first time a drone has been recovered in Bastar and prima facie looks like it was used for carrying out recce of the security establishments and surveillance of the troops movement,” a Chhattisgarh police officer told ThePrint, requesting anonymity. 

Chhattisgarh police sources stressed that there had been several inputs about Maoists using drone technology. “There were inputs about possession of drones by Naxals and we have launched an investigation. An FIR will be lodged under relevant sections to probe the matter,” another police officer said. 

There have been instances in the past when security forces have recovered drones from Maoist areas—in Bihar’s Aurangabad in 2022 and in Telangana’s Khammam in June 2023, when three Maoists ‘couriers’ were arrested with a drone camera. 

A case was lodged by the Telangana Police, later transferred to the National Investigation Agency, which in December 2023, chargesheeted the Maoist ‘couriers’. 

“These accused had also purchased a drone for the Maoists in May 2023, intended for spying on the activities of security forces inside the forest. They further received explosive materials, meant to unleash violent attacks on security forces, from their co-accused, to be supplied to the accused underground Maoists,” an NIA spokesperson had said in December 2023.

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)