Quadcopters used as weapons in Manipur

Bishnupur (Manipur): Technology has become both a boon and a bane in the restive Manipur state. While Army and Assam Rifles are deploying drones to rescue and save people, clashing ethnic groups are using quadcopters to target each other.

It has been noticed by security agencies that quadcopters have been put to use by warring factions – Meiteis, mostly concentrated in Imphal valley, and Kukis, mainly on the hillside – to know each other's positions, officials said.

There have been places like Phougakchao, Kangvai Bazar, and Torbung Bazar in the southwest part of Manipur where the quadcopters have been put to extensive use by the two communities where their villages face each other.

The security forces have created buffer zones at these places to keep the agitated communities away from each other.

However, Loibol in Senapati district and Leimaram in Bishnupur district have been hotspots during the violence despite the presence of security forces, the officials said.

Mistrust runs deep in the two communities which rely on technology to monitor each other's movement, the officials said.

Often during the day or night, there is intermittent firing where these groups are taking shots at these quadcopters, available freely in the market, the officials said.

Quadcopter, often called a quadrotor, is an uncrewed rotary wing aircraft that can take flight using four rotors, each consisting of a motor and propellers. Unlike conventional fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters, which rely on engines or tail rotors to take flight, quadcopters have neither. (PTI)