Jharkhand Police have decided to procure 20 micro unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV) as part of a modernisation drive to strengthen anti-Naxalite operations.

Currently, state police hire high-tech drones for aerial surveillance from the CRPF and the proposal for procurement of MUAVs was under discussion for quite sometime.

Confirming the development, IG (provision) Arun Kumar Singh said the government had set a budget of around Rs 35 lakh for the purchase.

“It will not be a normal drone. It will be a sensor-based aerial vehicle that will meet the standards set by the Union home ministry. The sensor protects MUAVs from crashing and getting damaged due to obstructions such as trees, hillocks and the like. It will prove instrument during anti-Naxalite operations as it will come fitted with a high resolution camera,” Singh said.

Sources in Jharkhand Police said the department had set certain parameters for the MUAVs that include operations at an altitude of minimum 300 feet with a flight time of one hour.

“MUAVs are like third eyes during anti-Naxalite operations that can help us locate and track the movement of rebels in dense forests. The CRPF and state police mostly conduct joint anti-rebel operations. The CRPF uses drones during operations. We need MUAVs for operational purposes,” a source said.

State police have also decided to procure Trichy assault rifles developed by the ordinance factory in Tiruchirapalli.

Police sources said a team of officials had visited Tiruchirapalli and tested the rifles.

“Trichy assault rifles are cheaper than AK-47, but equally lethal. Police of many states engaged in anti-Naxalite operations are slowly switching over to these rifles,” the source said.