( CNN ) Police in India are putting aside their batons in favor of an overhead solution to angry and unruly crowds : pepper-spraying drones . Yashasvi Yadav , Senior Superintendent of police in Lucknow , northern India , told CNN the city 's force has bought four drones and is in the process of purchasing one more . `` The drones have been tested in controlled conditions , '' he said . `` They have been very successful and will be used by the Lucknow police whenever there are violent protests or mob attacks . '' The miniature aircraft will be fitted with a camera and pepper spray ; each drone costs between $ 9,560 and $ 19,300 , Yadav added . Views on the new measure are mixed , with some concerned about the suppression of freedom of speech -- an already contentious issue in India . Last month , the country failed to enforce a law that would allow authorities to arrest people who post offensive material on social media . Others believe the country could learn from events further afield . Some say this method of crowd control needs regulation too . Questions have also been raised as to why the police are resorting to aggression . `` While I think it is bound to fail if not be another scam in the making , it also shows the mindset of the administration to not use dialogue and mediation to solve problems but use authoritarian and forceful methods , '' photojournalist Chirag Wakaskar in Mumbai told CNN . `` What they could do is start by having video surveillance in sensitive areas and have swifter justice . '' Protests are a common occurrence in India , a country with a population of 1.2 billion ; Lucknow , the capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh , also used drone cameras to monitor crowds at a recent religious festival . As well as being used as a security measure in other cities including Delhi and Mumbai , the unmanned , airborne vehicles have been used in tiger hunts , disaster relief and criminal investigations -- and even pizza deliveries . Reports suggest that the drone surveillance will be officially launched by the Chief Minister of Lucknow , Akhilesh Yadav , later this month . Kunal Sehgal contributed to this report .
Police in Lucknow , northern India , have bought four helicopters to remotely control protesters . The unmanned aerial vehicles are being equipped with cameras and pepper spray to subdue angry protesters . Some protesters have questioned why police are responding to ` ` authoritarian and forceful tactics ''