Prathap NM, who is famous as ‘Drone Boy’ has been making headlines for last 2 years for apparently building 600 drones out of e-waste & winning several drone competitions across the world. Stories of his extra ordinary achievements have been talk of the town & several reports have been published since then. Prathap claimed that he had won 1st prize in drone competition in Japan.
We at Krishi Jagran also published the story of his success with our intent to inspire our readers in positive ways & show that everything is possible for any human being. But as the story unfolds, many agencies have checked the facts of Prathap stories & it seems that he may have faked his success & achievements. Below is the complete update regarding this.
1. In a recent interview with a Kannada news channel, Prathap was asked about the photographs showing his self-made drones by the news anchor. Prathap then showed a photograph on his phone where he is seen posing with a drone. The drone in Prathap’s picture actually belongs to a German company, BillzEye. Bill Gutbier, the owner of the company issued a statement that the drone in the picture is developed by his company.
Further according to the statement, Bill said that at CEBIT 2018, Hanover Exhibition Center, Prathap asked questions about the drone and then requested for a picture with the drone ‘BETH-01’. Bill further added that ‘BETH-01’ is the property of his company & Mr. Prathap has nothing to do with the development, design, manufacturing or distribution of the drone. This drone which is in focus in Prathap’s picture was actually designed & constructed by Bill Gutbier.
2. Prathap also claimed that in Germany at CEBIT 2018, he was awarded "Albert Einstein Innovation Gold Medal". No such mention of the award or the gold medal could be found on the internet. The reports only mentions that Prathap had won them. Further, CEBIT innovation award are given to companies & not individuals.
3. Another picture of Prathap shows him with a drone which has a branding of Japan based company ACSL. A Reddit user wrote an email to the COO of ACSL, Satoshi Washiya asking about the picture and the drone. This is what Washiya said in answer to the email "We regret to inform you that Mr. Prathap N M has never been involved in any of our product development. In fact, we were not aware of him until you have emailed us."
Many Big & Reputed Media houses have published the success story of Prathap as well. Now it is being said that he has made a fool of Media by faking his achievements. We will keep you informed about all future updates regarding Prathap NM Story.
In the meantime, please do read & enjoy our other articles & news. Happy Reading
