Tl;dr
In previous blogposts, we have pointed out that the Delhi Police has been using drones for conducting mass surveillance of individuals without authorization. On May 5, 2020 the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allowed the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) or Drones by government entities for COVID-19 related operations by issuing a conditional exemption under Rule 160 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. Under this conditional exemption, government entities are allowed to deploy drones to conduct aerial surveillance, aerial photography and public announcements related to COVID-19. We wrote to the MCA and DGCA asking them to recall the conditional exemption and to commence an investigation into the ongoing illegal use of drones by the Delhi Police for mass surveillance.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://internetfreedom.in/the-ongoing-illegal-use-of-drones-by-the-delhi-police-needs-to-be-investigated/