A chili grenade is a type of non-lethal weapon developed by Indian military scientists at the Defence Research and Development Organisation for use by the Indian Armed Forces.[1][2] The weapon is similar to tear gas.[3] In 2016, civilian variants were being used for crowd control in Jammu and Kashmir.[4]
The smoke grenades use one of the world's spiciest chili pepper, bhut jolokia, species in weaponised form.[5] The weapon emits a powerful skin and eye irritant as well as pungent smell that causes the afflicted to leave their cover or become physically incapacitated by the grenade's load. The pepper being used is the thumb-sized bhut jolokia (or ghost chili) which had previously been recognised by Guinness World Records as the hottest pepper in the world, but was later superseded by two other pepper cultivars, the Carolina Reaper and the Trinidad moruga scorpion.[6][7] One bhut jolokia is more than 1,000,000 Scoville units.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili - Yahoo! News". 2010-03-23. Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
- ^ Singh, Rahul (15 August 2016). "Army backs pepper shots, chilli grenades over pellet guns in Kashmir". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
- ^ Hussain, Wasbir (23 March 2010). "India's Military Weaponizes World's Hottest Chili". Discovery News. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010.
- ^ "Chilli-filled grenades to replace pellet guns in J&K". The Hindu. 4 September 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
- ^ "Now, 'Chilli smoke' grenades to dig out terrorists". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "India plans hot chilli grenades". BBC. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018.
- ^ "Hottest chilli pepper". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
- ^ Bhaumik, Subir (24 March 2010). "India scientists hail 'multi-purpose' chillis". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
