The border security forces will now use capsicum gel-based tear gas to quell mobs. A senior BSF official said the new tear gas will be ready for use by security forces in a spray can and shell forms, as early as next month. The shells will be produced by the Tekanpur (Madhya Pradesh)-based Tear Smoke Unit (TSU) of the Border Security Force.
This gas will be non-lethal and can be used by various security forces of the country where law and order problem. However, the largest inventory of the product is expected to be shipped to the Valley owing to the number of public protests and incidents of stone pelting, the official said.
Various reports from the security establishments suggested that PAVA (Pelargonic Acid Vanillyl Amide) was not an effective replacement for the controversial pellet guns which blinded thousands of people in the valley of Kashmir. Hence an alternative non-lethal ammunition will now be provided.
The new bio-friendly oleoresin capsicum-based tear gas shells will be produced in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The official said the chilli ingredient for these new munitions will be sourced from the jungles of the northeast and Andhra Pradesh and have two variants.
“One will be a tear gas shell and the other spray can. The ultimate product will be helpful for police and security forces to combat both close-quarter and distant targets,” the official said.
In the first go, about 50,000 shells will be produced by the TSU which will be followed by subsequent need-based orders from the forces.
