10 March 2023 09:35 pm Views - 1597
Expired tear gas canisters are not being used by Sri Lanka Police to disperse the protesters because police cannot expect better results from outdated tear gas canisters, police said.
Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that generally, open tenders are called and tear gas is purchased according to a prescribed method.
He said expired tear gas was not being used by the police to disperse a protest.
"There are some allegations of Police using expired tear gas against protesters. When any product expires, it will no longer work or provide better results. Even with tear gas, the gas does not work properly after the expiration date. So using a non-functioning canister will be of no use for the police to disperse the protesters," he said
He said according to the officials attached to the police riot team, tear gas produced by internationally recognized companies are being used to disperse the protesters.
Earlier, Lawyers for National People's Power (NPP) alleged that three individuals, who were exposed to tear gas had died during the past week and added that most people had developed complications after being exposed to tear-gas.
Commenting on the allegations, the Spokesman said he cannot comment on the matter because the matter is still under investigation and that the post mortem reports into the deaths are yet to be received.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)