Article Posted on : - Jun 26, 2009

Image of 'Bhut Jolokia' chilli pepper to be used in making grenade.

GUHWAHATI (BNS): Indian soldiers will use world's hottest chilli powders as hand grenades instead of the usual explosives to control riots during insurgency operations in the country.

Indian defence scientists said that the effect of chillies will immobilize a person without killing him and is enough to startle a person for a while when used as a weapon.

“We are working on a project on how to use the hottest chili in different applications in defence forces,” a defence website quoted R B Srivastava, a senior scientist at the state-run Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as saying Thursday.

The chilli called bhut jolokia, generates 1,000,000 heat units on the Scoville scale -- a measure of hotness -- at least a thousand times more than a common kitchen chili.

DRDO scientists are quoted as saying the potent chilli will be used as a food additive for troops operating in cold conditions. Pepper spray and tear gas are commonly used as crowd deterrents in India.