Police in Lucknow, a populous north Indian city, has purchased five weaponized drones that sprays pepper to control riots.

Police in Lucknow, a populous north Indian city, is planning to use pepper-spraying drones to control riots. The news, reported by Yahoo, reveals purchase of five weaponized drones by Lucknow police department for about $45000 ($9000 apiece).

The concept of aerial robots is not entirely new to the city, as the local cops have used drones for surveillance and imagery during religious festivities in the past. The use of pepper-spraying drones seem like a good investment for the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, a state that has a complex history of communal clashes.

Each of these drones are equipped to carry 2Kg of pepper and can fly around 1Km radius from the operator. The reason for using Pepper is that it is harmless to humans but are very good at dispersing riots. However, there are concerns that it could get incredibly complicated for drone operators to get a sense of the situation on the ground. The local chief of police says they have successfully field-tested the drones with satisfactory results.

The results were brilliant. We have managed to work out how to use it to precisely target the mob in winds and congested areas,

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

There may be drawback of using something in a crowded city like Lucknow. However, these drones do give the police quick and easy access to situations that threaten public safety of two million people, who lives in the city.

Source: Yahoo News