NEW DELHI // Police in northern India will soon use slingshots loaded with chilli powder and marbles to tackle unruly protesters, an inspector said on Wednesday.
Not content with water cannon, tear gas and traditional wooden sticks or lathis, police in Haryana state close to New Delhi will turn to the slingshots as a “non-lethal way” to control violent crowds.
“Plus it is much better than firing plastic bullets which can cause pretty bad injuries,” said Anil Kumar Rao, the police inspector general of Hisar district who came up with the idea.
“It will be used only in emergency cases so that we can manage minimum collateral damage.”
The locally-made slingshots are the latest in a series of unconventional measures adopted by security forces in India, which sees daily protests on a myriad of issues. Some quickly escalate out of control.
In April last year police in the northern city of Lucknow said they were introducing pepper-spraying drones to control “mob crowds”.
Critics say the marbles could cause serious injury, but Mr Rao said they would be used sparingly and only after the “chilli balls” failed.
“And it’s not like we plan to use marbles on peaceful protesters, it’s only meant to control hostile people,” said Mr Rao, whose officers have started practising with the slingshots.
“We have to step in and take certain action when people are burning government property, cars. This is a very, very positive step — a civilised, cost-effective weapon.”
* Agence France-Presse
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Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
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Company%20Profile
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
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Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
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