Chetan Nandane, a third-year engineering electronics student of Sandip Foundation, has developed a new-age baton to help the police force combat rising crime.
“I have seen crime increase drastically in the last few years, even in my day-to-day life. Many a time, what happens is, riots take place and there are no eyewitnesses. So, I thought, why not fit multiple functions into one police baton? I immediately started researching and working on it,” says Chetan.
His multi-purpose baton comes equipped with two hours’ battery backup, five LEDs, audio and video recorder, metal detector, stun gun and a GPS system. “It records all movements and also provides high intensity light for night patrolling. It detects weapons and provides protection to policemen in the form of a stun gun. The GPS system is used to track the location of specific policemen, in case backup is needed,” he explains.
Long journey
While Chetan primarily worked alone on this project, he acknowledges the role played by his college. “They gave me a lot of support and help,” he says. Yet, it was a long journey. He discarded 15 earlier versions of the baton before he was happy with the results. His efforts took him about a year and a half, but they seem to have paid off. “My product has been purchased by Chandrapur Police Department. They told me the response is good so far and that it has been helping the police to control crime,” enthuses Chetan.
He has set up his own company — Flyheights Electroarc Private Limited — and plans to continue manufacturing the overhauled baton and more through it. Besides these multifunctional police sticks, as he calls them, Chetan’s company is developing eight other innovative products. “My dream is to provide this product all over India and to make the country crime-free.”
