Pepper Spraying Drones Are Being Employed By UP Police For Riot Control

Remember last year, we talked about a Pepper Spray Bullet Firing Drone Takes Riot Control To A Whole New Level that was made specifically for employing non-lethal ways of crowd control, well you will soon be able to see a similar drone in action on the streets of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh this year. The Lucknow Police Senior Superintendent has informed the media that they have acquired five drones that are able to pepper spray unruly crowds. These drones cost Rs 6 lakh each and have a range of one kilometre. These drones are able to carry payloads of two kilograms and can fly up to a height of 600 meters. This isn’t the first time the authorities have deployed drones in the state. Previously the state government had hired surveillance drones during important religious and national festivals. The authorities were impressed by their capabilities and decided to buy them instead of hiring them for a fee.


When you consider the idea of pepper spraying, riot control drone in India it has its own advantages and disadvantages. These riot control drones employ less harmful means of dispersing crowds. Currently, the police rely on old school lathi-charge to break protests. The drones will be able to perform its duties without letting the police in the harm’s way. We have read reports of incidents where mobs inflict injuries on the police when they try to get in their way. The disadvantages list is also quite long. In a country like India, where more money is needed for ensuring basic amenities for the public, spending Rs. 30lakh seems rather unnecessary. Next, we have the problem of safety of the drones themselves. If the drone has to pepper-spray then it needs to fly at lower altitudes. When it is flying at low altitudes it could easily be knocked down by stone pelting, something that commonly happens during riots. Finally there is the case of identifying miscreants. Pepper spray isn’t a targeted threat and when the drone starts dispersing the skin and nose irritating liquid it cannot make sure to avoid any innocent bystander or victims of the riot.

Source: #-Link-Snipped-#