Police in India will begin using pepper-spraying drones on protesters

Police in Lucknow, India have confirmed they’ve outfitted five drones they recently purchased with pepper spray as a means for controlling protesters.

Yashasvi Yadav, police chief of Lucknow, said his officers have successfully test-flown the drones. 

“The results were brilliant,” Yadav told the Associated Foreign Press. “We have managed to work out how to use it to precisely target the mob in winds and congested areas.” 

He went on to explain some of the benefits of combining this form of control with aerial technology.

“Pepper is non-lethal but very effective in mob control. We can spray from different heights to have maximum results,” he added.

The drones cost about 600,000 rupees ($9,600) each, and the police force plans on introducing them later this month to control political protests. 

In terms of power and range, each drone has enough strength to carry about four-and-a-half pounds of pepper, and can fly within a one-kilometer radius of its operator. 

In addition to the pepper spray, the drones are also equipped with high-resolution cameras for recording the events that occur during rallies.

Lucknow points out that this is not the first time the police have used drones: previously, they’ve used the technology for surveillance during religious festivals in the city, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state. 

India is home to 1.2 billion people, and with such a dense population, it sees daily protests on a whole range of issues, most of which are carried out peacefully. Of late, though, there have been protests that turned unruly and even violent, with some even becoming too difficult to control for the local police force. 

It is these instances that led Lucknow and his force to seek a technological solution. 

Police all over the world, including the United States, are using drones as a policing tool; mostly, though, they’re used as surveillance tools. This marks the first time a drone has been weaponized for use against the public.

Unfortunately, it’s not likely to be the last. 

Via Yahoo!