'Helicopter' worth $54,000 'stolen' from India's Uttar Pradesh? Defence ministry clarifies

Indian defence ministry on Saturday (May 18) described as "completely misleading" some reports in a section of media claiming thatadummy model of the Chinook helicopter prepared by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had been stolen.

Earlier reports said that the model was made todisplayit at the 2020 Defence Expo but later it went missing.

Indian defence ministry said no such replica was installed at the defence expo by the DRDO and the news articles claiming otherwise are misleading.

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"News circulating about aDRDO-installed Chinook Helicopter Model at Lucknow during DefExpo 2020 missing, is misleading. Chinook is made by Boeing andDRDO has never installed any Helicopter Model at Lucknow anytime," the defence ministry said in a statement on X.

The exhibitionwas reportedly heldin Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state. News reports said the replica becameapopularspotduring the expo as people flocked to take selfies of the life-sized structure.After the exhibition concluded, the replica was left thereandthe local municipal corporationwas entrustedwiththe task ofmaintaining it, as per reports.

Media reports claimed that the replica mysteriously vanished last year andIt wasstill not clear who took away the replica and when.Earlier it was reported that the municipal corporation had raised concerns about the structural integrity of the helicopter and decided to get rid of it. Later, Lucknow Municipal Corporation claimedthe replica had been sentfor repairs to their "Rubbish and Removable" workshop in Gomti Nagar.

But,the helicopter couldn't be recovered from the workshop either, as per reports.

It was claimed that the replica was madefrom scrap materials and was worth 4.5 million rupees.

(With inputs from agencies)