Puri: A drone was once again spotted flying over the restricted corridor area of the Srimandir in Puri, triggering security concerns. The incident, which occurred on Monday evening, prompted immediate police action, leading to the detention of a man allegedly operating the drone.

The detained individual has been identified as Debashish Pati, a resident of Jajpur Town.

According to reports, security personnel noticed the drone hovering above the temple corridor at around 6:05 PM—an area strictly designated as a no-fly zone.

On receiving the information, Puri Superintendent of Police Prateek Singh directed the Singhadwar police station, along with a special team, to take swift action. Acting promptly, the police conducted a raid near Hotel Jyoti and Nayak Plaza, where they apprehended the accused and seized the drone.

Case registered

A case has been registered against the individual at Singhadwar Police Station, and further legal proceedings are underway.

Notably, this is not the first such incident. On May 18, a drone was spotted flying over the premises of the Shree Jagannath Temple. During that operation, authorities identified a youth operating the drone from the Dhanakuti Sahi lane area. He was later identified as Dipu Kumar Yadav, a resident of Jharkhand.

Earlier, on January 22, a similar incident was reported when a drone was seen hovering over the temple premises. In that case, the Singhadwar police arrested Madhusudan Sadangi from the Kazidih area in Cuttack.

The recurring incidents have raised serious concerns over security enforcement around the Srimandir.