Hyderabad: For the world’s “handcuff king” Houdini, freeing himself from disposable handcuffs could have been easier than from the metal ones. Or may be not. But it certainly won’t be for those caught rioting or pelting stones during protests and demonstrations.
Borrowing the idea from the west, the Indian security establishment will procure disposable handcuffs, popular with the police and military the world over, to restrain those caught rioting or indulging in violence. The light weight and low cost disposable handcuffs will come in handy when the security forces anticipate large number of arrests during protests and demonstrations that spiral out of control — something that is common across the country.
Senior officials based in New Delhi told Deccan Chronicle over telephone that they will shortly be placing orders for disposable handcuffs made either of nylon or polyamide, which are cheaper than the metal cuffs.
They also said that disposable handcuffs are easier to carry than metal handcuffs. Importantly, use of this type of handcuffs avoids transmission of communicable diseases. With metal handcuffs, there is high probability of diseases spreading from blood or other body fluids which remain on the cuffs all the time. Disposable cuffs are used once and thrown away, they explained.
The officials are looking at a fabric (for the disposable handcuff) which is bright in colour for easy identification of the person handcuffed. It will also have a non reversible locking system and will come with a cutter for cutting the cuff, which will ensure that they cannot be reused.
Though disposable handcuffs may appear very simple, it does require policemen to be trained properly in their use.
An officials said, “If applied too tight on the person being restrained, it can be more uncomfortable than the conventional handcuffs. Enough care and training is required as it can restrict blood flow to the hands if not applied correctly.”
The disposable cuffs come with two inter-locking straps or a single cable tied around both wrists with a tiny plastic device to hold the cord tight and the minimal tearing strength must be more than 140 kg.
“Once the vendors are finalised and given the orders, we will start using them in Delhi.
Thereafter, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) will be roped in to hold meetings with the police of different states and given them a presentation about the disposable handcuffs,” the official said.
Besides the Delhi police, the handcuffs will be made available to paramilitary forces like the CRPF and BSF who are often called in to tackle violent protests.
