Now, ‘Nirbheek’ to arm women cops

Kanpur: A lightweight revolver – ‘Nirbheek’ -- made exclusively for women by the Indian Ordnance Factory (IOF), was displayed for the first time during an exhibition organised on the Ordnance Factory campus to mark the Ordinance Factory Day here on Wednesday. Another key attraction of the exhibition was Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher, manufactured by the Ordinance Factory Cownpore (OFC).
The `Nirbheek' revolver, which was launched last year, is designed by the Field Gun Factory (FGF). Having a 0.32 bore, the revolver weights only 525gm against its 700gm counterpart for the men. Priced at Rs. 1,40,646, the revolver has a bullet range of 10-15 meters. “Though the revolver was launched last year in March, this is the first time it has been displayed at a public exhibition. The revolver was designed keeping women in mind. Its weight is around 150gm less than the usual revolver MK3. With a price tag of Rs. 1,40,646, the revolver is developed for civil use,” said Rakesh Kumar, general manager of FGF.
Kumar said that the factory has got order for manufacturing 100 ‘Nirbheek’ revolvers for women police in Jammu and Kashmir. “The revolver was a hit just after it was launched last year. It is more popular in Delhi and Punjab. We have got order for manufacturing 100 ‘Nirbheek’ guns for women police of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. The handgun was named after an Indian student who was gangraped in Delhi in December 2012 and later died of her injuries. The media named the ganrape rape victim, Nirbhaya and as a tribute to her the IOF named the handgun as ‘Nirbheek’. Talking about the upcoming plans, FGF GM said that they are working on upgrading T-72 and T-90 barrel. "We are working on manufacturing maple barrel for T-72 tank. This means that after firing, if the ammunition remains stuck in the barrel, it will not explode,” he said. Another key attraction of the exhibition was Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher that was installed just at the entrance of the exhibition gate. The spokesperson for Ordinance Factory Cownpore (OFC) informed that Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher has a capacity of firing 12 rockets in a minute. "Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The system has a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 65 km for mark-II. The rockets have a capacity to destroy 500 meter to one-km area," said Vinay Awasthi, spokesperson for OFC.