When an Air Force UAV was almost shot down at Commonwealth opening

It was a major security scare on the day of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) opening ceremony when an IAF's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle came below the prescribed height -- possibly to give its controllers a peep of the spectacle.

Sources privy to the CWG security arrangements today said that an Indian Air Force's UAV had descended below 6,000 feet on the evening of October 3.

The aircraft hovered over the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium to monitor threats of terror outfit Lashker-e-Taiba using paragliders to disrupt the spectacular ceremony.

The anti-aircraft guns, available with the army, had been mounted atop at various high-rise buildings around the venue to meet any such threats.

It was a trying time for security personnel when the UAV came down and the guns were quickly activated as other agencies followed the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to establish the identity of the flying object, the sources said.

However, the IAF stepped in immediately and informed that the UAV belonged to them and all pro-active action was put to immediate halt, they added.

Asked whether there was a technical failure in the UAV, a senior official said possibly the men manning it at the control room wanted to have a glimpse of the opening ceremony. The vehicle besides maintaining a vigil also beamed images of the spectacle live.