Protesting against rape in India – a country where victims are so frequently blamed to the point of being outcast from their communities and laughed at by local police – has always been an incredibly brave act.
But simply taking to the streets to express a democratic demand for equality is about to get harder, because sections of the Indian government are trialing pepper spray drones.
At the moment, when people protesting for human rights (any human rights, not just for those who have been raped, though these do tend to be the biggest, most unruly one ones) have rubbed up authorities the wrong way, they’re treated to full-pelt water cannon. But now? Well, the government will be able to get police officers to send out little flying pepper sprayers, like remote control planes but with toxic fumes inside them.
‘The results were brilliant. We have managed to work out how to use it to precisely target the mob in winds and congested areas,’ Yashasvi Yadav, police chief of Lucknow told AFP, reports The Guardian.
‘Pepper is non-lethal but very effective in mob control. We can spray from different heights to have maximum results.’
The Lucknow police force has bought five drones…let’s hope they never get to see the light of day.
**Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
**
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.