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India's
security forces are planning to mix one of the world's hottest
chillis in hand grenades to control riots and during insurgency
operations in the remote northeast, a defence official said recently.
India's defence scientists say
they will replace explosives in small hand grenades with a certain
variety of red chilli to immobilise a person without killing him.
"We are working on a
project on how to use the hottest chilli in different applications in
defence forces," said R.B. Srivastava, a senior scientist at
the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
according to press agencies.
Scientists said the chilli found
in the country's northeast generates so much heat it was enough to
startle a person for a while when used as a weapon.
The bhut jolokia chilli is said
to generate in excess of 1,000,000 heat units on the Scoville scale
at least a thousand times more than a common kitchen chilli.
The Scoville scale was named
after American scientist Wilbur Scoville, the first to measure the
heat component in chillies.
The chilli will also be used as a
food supplement for soldiers deployed in cold weather conditions to
raise their body temperatures, Srivastava said.
Scientists are also hoping to use
a coat of the chilli powder in fences around army barracks as its
pungent smell keeps wild animals away.
Warning:
If you are using the bhut jolokia or (Dorset Naga) in your restaurant
or kitchen please use with great care.
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