World's hottest chilli to become India's secret weapon against terrorism
The world's hottest chilli - the thumb-sized bhut jolokia, or ghost chilli - will be used by the Indian military to make hand grenades to immobilise terrorist suspects, defence officials said on Tuesday.
Published: 2:45PM GMT 23 Mar 2010, telegraph.co.uk
"The chilli grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defence laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists at the Defence Research and Development Organisation," Col. R. Kalia, a defence spokesman in the north-eastern state of Assam, said.
"This is definitely going to be an effective non-toxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts," said R. B. Srivastava, the director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO.
The bhut jolokia was confirmed by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chilli. It is grown and eaten in India's north-east for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat. It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chilli's spiciness. Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.
Mr Srivastava, who led a defence research laboratory in Assam, said trials are also on to produce bhut jolokia-based aerosol sprays to be used by women against attackers and for the police to control and disperse mobs.
