Maharashtra State Prisons Department has decided to use drones to ensure security in prisons and monitor the movements of inmates, a senior official said here.
Additional Director General of Police of Prisons, Amitabh Gupta said that in the first phase, drones will be deployed in 12 prisons eight central jails, two district jails and two open jails.
They will also be used for night-time surveillance. This will help in getting real-time updates on what is happening within prison premises, said an official release.
The prisons that will use drones for surveillance include Yerawada, Kolhapur, Nashik, Sambhaji Nagar, Taloja, Thane, Amravati, Nagpur, Kalyan and Chandrapur.
The use of drones for surveillance has been given priority under the orders of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Maharashtra government, it added.
Maharashtra would be the second state after Uttar Pradesh to use drones to strengthen prison security, the statement said.