Chinese couple held in Varanasi over drone flying, let off

Varanasi, Oct 4 : A Chinese couple was held here for flying a drone equipped with a high definition camera during the famous Ganga Aarti but was let off after a formal probe, police said on Wednesday.

After the drone was spotted flying late on Tuesday over the Aarti venue at the Rajendra Prasad Ghat and despite announcements on the public address system, when it did not land, a team was sent and it was discovered a Chinese couple, on a tourist visa, was flying it over them.

The couple was staying in a guest house at Munshi Ghat. Both were immediately detained and police, along with intelligence sleuths questioned them, an official informed.

"We have not found anything suspicious and the duo has told us they did not know that it was a restricted area," Circle Officer (CO) of Dashashwamedh Ghat, Sneha Tiwari told IANS.

"After a probe into their belongings, documents and the pictures the drone clicked we have released them," Tiwari said.