E-Paper
Pepper guns stun CRPF
The trial run of the non-lethal pepper gun has disappointed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as it has failed to control agitating mobs in the Kashmir Valley.
The trial run of the non-lethal pepper gun has disappointed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as it has failed to control agitating mobs in the Kashmir Valley.
The CRPF has now given the gun to the Jammu and Kashmir Police for a second round of trials.
An officer of the rank of Inspector General in the CRPF who conducted initial tests of the weapon reported that the gun was ineffective on Kashmiri people.
“We haven’t come to any conclusion on whether the use of the pepper gun yielded satisfactory results. We have given it to the J&K police for one month and we can reach a conclusion after getting reports from the police,” CRPF Special Director General (J&K) N.K. Tripathi told HT.
The pepper gun is an air-gun developed by South Africa. It shoots pepper containing super irritant Capsaicin II (the burning component in chilies) in the form of concentrated dry powder.
The gun can be used from a distance of 50 metres and doesn’t require shooting straight at the target. The dry powder creates dust around the target, temporarily blinding him or her for 3-5 minutes within which a suspect can be apprehended.
The pepper gun was introduced in Kashmir in the first week of July after the current phase of protests started but was not successful in controlling mobs.
A Kashmir University lecturer wishing anonymity, said, “Protestors in the Valley have become resistant and immune to tear gas, which is more harmful than pepper ammo.”
