“The gruesome
(December 16) gang-rape in New Delhi last year prompted me to devise a safety
ring called‘Sting bee’ that can be worn by women on their right index finger to
defend themselves against a potential rapist or killer” says Imran Khan, an
innovator from Chitradurga, Karnataka. With his innovation, now Imran Khan has
given the custom of wearing and gifting rings a whole new meaning. He believes that,
‘Finding a solution to the problem is innovation’.
Once, Imran’s
sister was stung by a honey bee causing her severe pain and distress, but
unlike others he did not stop after comforting her. Taking a cue from the honey
bee, he wanted all women to carry a ‘sting’ that will help them avoid rogue
attacks from marauders and for self protection in hostile situations.

“We hear a lot
about women being attacked or violated these days and the phenomenon is across
the country”, says Imran adding, “Women are gods most beautiful creation and
its man duty to protect their dignity, hence, I invented the ring that can
sting like a bee. Usually in a combat situation, we primarily use our hands, so
I thought of using a ring as a weapon”. The Ring is fitted with a cartridge
that contains the chemical Capsaicin which protected by a dual lock mechanism
to avoid spillage and damage to the system.
Imran explains
the use of Capsaicin saying, “Since my sister was stung by a bee I wanted to
use Bee venom, but bee venom is not only neurotoxic, it is also expensive. Then
I thought of using Formic acid but it is metal corrosive,hence decided to use Capsaicin
which is a chilly extract”. The ring is not just a weapon though; the ring has
an RFId (Radio Frequency Identification) for detection and a computer chip that
can also send the location to emergency numbers provided and alert the police
stations in the vicinity.
Presently, Imran
has made these rings available in steel, silver, and gold. The rings are
aesthetically made and often topped with a jewel or gem.
Apart from being
an innovator, Imran is passionately dedicated to doing something for the
oppressed sex, hence Imran established ‘Save my Sister Trust’ through which he
plans to create awareness, and provide help to victimised women, besides giving
100 sting rings for free. He is now actively working on getting a women’s
helpline number that will be common across the country. His ideas for women’s
safety includefree legal service for women especially in cases of sexual
violence and starting an online portal that can register complains. The portal
will also aim to offer counselling/ training on how to deal with sexual
assault, and means to bring the culprits to justice.
Imran explains,
“Women often refrain from approaching the law as there is a social stigma
associated with sexual assault. There are also legal fees which the victim has
to pay. In the absence of support, women fail to get the guilty punished.
Through ‘Save my Sister Trust’, I plan to raise around 120 crores – that is one
rupee by each Indian citizen – to provide for free legal service for victims.
This will see 6000 lawyers being hired and working for the cause”.
Professionally
by training, Imran is a pharmacist turned entrepreneur and manages a company
called India Operating System through which he conducts research and sells
other revolutionary innovations. Imran after working with a Pharmaceuticals
company for 4 to 5 years in exports realised that medical errors was a growing
phenomenon these days. “Presence of over 2000 odd pharmaceutical companies
selling over 20 thousand life saving combinations have complicated the lives of
Pharmacists and Doctors alike. It is also difficult for them to remember
adverse drug combinations and reactions for some many newer molecules” explains
Imran adding, “Doctors prescription should be well written and well read as
misinterpretation or incorrect combinations can be devastating for the
patients. With this in Mind I devised a prescription pad that will reduce the
prescription writing time for doctors from 50 seconds to 30 seconds”. The
Electronic prescription pad is a genius concept as it will alert the doctor or
the pharmacist when an adverse drug combination is detected in the
prescription. Similarly there is no margin for misinterpretation as the
prescription is in electronic display and from a list of fed in medicine brand
names and dosages. The electronic prescription unit also helps the patient with
a unique login id and password so he need not carry his prescriptions to where
he travels or relocates. The entire medical history is online and can be
accessed from anywhere. A soft copy of the prescription is also saved with the
pharmacist. The devise will store data that can be used in multiple ways by all
sorts of stakeholders. Imran has managed to sell this patented product to
another company for a sum though he continues to work on upgrading the system.
Imran did his
primary schooling from Chitradurga district and is a resident of Babbur village.
While most of us pay our taxes and blame it on the government for not providing
us good facilities, Imran believes in the system. Imran narrates, “I come from
a not so well to do family. While my parents worked hard to provide for the
family the government helped me in a lot many ways. I studied in government
funded schools and colleges and then also did my graduation from a government
college. During my pre-university and my graduation days, I stayed in a
government funded hostel that gave me nice food. Government is doing a lot but
most of us exploiting the government like Power theft for example. I am working
on an Electronic Prepaid Fuse to help the government dealt with this menace. By
working on this meter, and for the society, I am just giving the government
back for giving me all these facilities when I needed them”. Imran’s current
assignment is the Electronic prepaid fuse which he has been working on for a
year now. The Electronic Prepaid fuse (EPF) has features like theft detection,
tamper proof, and can be used as a standalone device to detect power
fluctuations, being prepaid it will help government tackle defaults.
Imran also has
interest in the hospitality industry and there may be an innovation happening
there as well.