The Haryana Police has ushered in a new era of law enforcement by employing drones equipped with tear gas devices to manage crowd situations. On Tuesday, at the Shambhu Barrier along the Punjab-Haryana boundary, the Haryana Police utilized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to disperse protesting farmers by dropping tear gas shells.
According to a police official speaking to *The Hindu*, the state government utilized drones manufactured by Drone Imaging and Information Service of Haryana Limited (DRIISHYA), a public limited company established in 2021. The tear smoke launcher, designed for riot control and crowd management, was reportedly developed by the Tear Smoke Unit (TSU) of the Border Security Force (BSF) in 2022. However, it hadn’t been acquired by any state police force until now.
Officials suggest that Haryana may have procured the tear smoke launcher from a private vendor. Notably, the tear smoke canisters launched from the UAVs were produced at TSU in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh, underscoring the collaboration between various law enforcement agencies in modernizing crowd control techniques.
This innovative approach raises questions and discussions about the future of policing and the ethical considerations surrounding the use of technology in law enforcement. As drones equipped with tear gas devices make their debut in India’s law enforcement landscape, it remains to be seen how this technology will be regulated and utilized in the future.