The video had a man showing off "Vajra, Trishul and Sapper Punch"
New Delhi: A company's claim of developing "non-lethal weapons" to match the spiked clubs and tasers used by the Chinese in the Galwan Valley clash last year grabbed much attention on social media on Monday.
A video of tasers shaped like a spiked rod and a "Trishul", posted by news agency ANI, raised questions and also inspired memes.
The video had one Mohit Kumar, Chief Technology Officer at a Noida-based company named Apastron, demonstrating "Vajra", a taser rod, and the "Trishul" said to be inspired by Lord Shiva's weapon.
He also showed off what he called a ''Sapper Punch'' - tasing equipment that can be worn like winter protection gloves and "can be used to give a blow or two with a current discharge to aggressor enemy troops".
Mr Kumar was quoted as saying that his company had been asked by the Indian security force to develop these arms to tackle the Chinese.
"We were asked by the Indian security forces to develop non-lethal equipment after the Chinese used wired sticks and tasers against our soldiers in the Galwan clash. We could also see the Chinese showing their traditional weapons during deployments," he told ANI.
"We have also developed similar tasers and non-lethal inspired by our traditional weapons for Indian security forces," he was quoted as saying.
"The Vajra can be used for both tasing aggressively attacking enemy soldiers in hand to hand combat as well as puncture their bullet-proof vehicles. The Vajra also has spikes that discharge current under the permissible limits and can make an enemy soldier ineffective during hand to hand combat during face-offs," said Mr Kumar.
He added that the "Trishul" could be used for tasing as well as blocking vehicles of adversaries.
None of these weapons can cause deaths or any serious injury but these can stun the enemy troops while making them ineffective temporarily during hand-to-hand engagement, he claimed.
Mr Kumar didn't answer when asked which Indian security forces had commissioned the weapons. He also asserted that the weapons were not to be sold to private persons or the general public and were meant only for security forces and law enforcement agencies.
There is no official word from the government or any representative of the armed forces confirming that these weapons have been bought for the troops.
But the weapons did make a mark.
"Nice preparation for Under-13 Junior Ind-China war championship," tweeted one user.
Another quipped: "Tony Spark".