Named after Delhi gangrape victim, revolver to protect women from sex predators

mangaloretoday.com/ India Today

Kanpur, March 27: After pepper sprays and pocket knives, women now have a brand new weapon to scare away sexual predators. A special, lightweight revolver ’Nirbheek’ for women was launched by the Kanpur Ordnance Factory on Tuesday.

"This is the need of the hour. We have designed a small revolver that can be easily carried in a purse or handbag of the females. We have delivered three guns to ladies from Lucknow, Barabanki and New Delhi," M.C. Bansal, the chairman of the ordnance factory, said.

 

Nirbheek, a .32 bore revolver, weighing 500gm, can be kept by women in their purses. The revolver will cost around Rs.1.22 lakh. The nomenclature of the revolver is inspired by ’Nirbhaya’, a paramedical student who was brutally gangraped in a bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012.

"Delhi is not a safe place for women. You can feel safe in the day but without a protective weapon, you cannot even think of going out in the night. That is why I decided to buy this weapon that I can comfortably carry in my purse," Seema Kharbanda, a resident of Delhi, told Mail Today over phone.

Kalpana Pandey of Barabanki told mediapersons after getting the revolver: "It is very light, and I also fired a few shots from it. There is no problem in carrying it or handling it. We are happy that the ordinance factory designed such a weapon for our safety." The general manager of the Field Gun Factory, Kanpur, Abdul Hameed, said it took three years to develop the revolver. "Earlier design of the revolver was around 750 gm but we made modifications to bring its weight to 500 gm," he said, adding they were planning to give discounts to women on the gun in the coming years.