Hossain Md Mayaz, 28, son of former Member of Parliament HM Golam Reza, was detained for flying a drone in the area of National Parliament on Monday to take pictures and video of Alpona painted on Manik Mia Avenue road on the occasion of Pohela Boishakh, has been released on bond.

He was detained by the police of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station.

Regarding flying the drone, Mayaz said that he used his personal drone MAVIC AIR-3 without prior permission to take a videography and photograph of Alpona painted on Manik Mia Avenue on the occasion of Pohela Boishakh and it was his unintentional mistake.

He also expressed regret for his mistake saying that the area is restricted and he should have been aware for the sake of security.

Saying that he would be fully respectful of the law, Mayaz also promised that he will never do such activities again in the future.

Bangladesh, like other countries of the world, has restrictions on flying drones in sensitive and important areas for security reasons.

 Flying drones is prohibited especially in the red zone area.

As per law, any individual or government and private  organization has to obtain written permission at least 45 days before flying  an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or commonly known as drones), Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) and remote controlled toy plane.

Alongside flying these aerial vehicles, the trend of flying kites have increased, fire lanterns and laser light and high-powered torch lights are used in the areas close to the airbase of Bangladesh Air Force.

Prior permission must be obtained in line with the specifications spelt out in the form available on the website of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Besides, all have been requested to refrain from flying these unauthorized aerial vehicles and other things including kites, fire lanterns and using of laser light and high-powered torch lights to avert untoward incidents, according to ISPR release issued in January this year.  

When asked about the flying of drones in the red zone, Md Rawshanul Haque Saikat, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Mohammadpur zone of Tejgaon division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said that there are strict restrictions on flying drones in sensitive and important areas in all countries of the world for security. Flying drones in sensitive areas is also prohibited in Bangladesh. It is necessary for the security of important institutions and individuals of the state.

He asked everyone to refrain from flying drones in important areas of the country including Bangabhabn, Ganabhaban, National Parliament building, prime minister’s office, airport, Chandrima Udyan and other important areas of the country. 

According to "The Drone Registration and Flying Guideline, 2020", there are four categories in regard to flying of drones. Flying drones is prohibited in the red zone. Airports or particular key point installations (KPI's) fall within the red zone. Drones cannot be flown in the red zone without special permission.