The police at the temple town of Srisailam in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh are still on the hunt to find out the people responsible for flying a drone over the Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple for three days at a stretch.

“Around 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., (the drone) was just appearing for a few minutes and then disappearing,” Kurnool district SP Fakkeerappa Kaginelli told IANS on Monday.

According to the SP, nano drones weighing less than 250 gm do not require permission to fly, prompting the police to suspect if any amateur video shooting, recce or any other kind of activity was being carried out by the unknown drone flyers.

Kaginelli said the police are open to all possibilities and are verifying the matter from every possible angle.

Incidentally, the drone activity caught Kurnool police unawares as no such case was reported till now, especially involving an important temple.

When quizzed if the police didn’t think of shooting down the drone, the officer said, “Today I am camping at Srisailam, let me see. We are conducting extensive cordon and search operations across the Srisailam forest area along with forest department officers.”

“We will assess the situation and then take a call whether to go for a forced take down,” he said.

In their bid to find out the drone operators, the police have taken up extensive search operations in lodges, hotels and tourist places.

The SP said flying drones without permission occurs in many places, compelling the police to seize the compact unmanned aerial vehicles and warn their operators.

However, continuous drone activity over the temple at a particular time has pushed the police to gather intelligence from various sources.