Sunday, November 30, 2008

Need for a drowsiness causing gas

A family friend works for the special cell of Police in India, involved in fighting with terrorists and underworld.

I talked to him about the Taj Hotel incident and asked him if they could have used some gas to make all people inside the hotel unconscious, thus making it much faster to catch the terrorists and rescue the hostages.

He conveyed that the police does not use any such gases; though there are chemical gases like Chloroform, Carbon monoxide, Methane which can make people unconscious, these gases can kill people with their overdose.

A gas which would instantly knock-down people by making them drowsy/unconscious, in a medically safe manner could be useful in such operations.

1 comment:

bunty said...

Sanjeev,
Good point. To the best of my knowledge we do have a chemical for use
in this particular type of situation. However, the side effects are not
pleasant but it sure is another tool in the chest that our forces in the
US can utilize if the situation needs it. I think the Indian Police
forces need more advanced weapons and more training plus a better
salary. The World War II era weapons that Bombay police were using are
no match for today's terrorists. In addition, it took the NSG special
forces 9 hrs. to reach Bombay which is unacceptable in this type of
hostage taking situation. The NSG special forces must have their own
planes and helicopters for use and in addition they should be spread out
and reside near all big cities to be able to make a difference and save
lives in situation like the Bombay incident. Enjoyed reading your blog.

Bunty