diff --git a/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/helper/container-kill.go b/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/helper/container-kill.go
index 43513489c..5f30130c9 100644
--- a/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/helper/container-kill.go
+++ b/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/helper/container-kill.go
@@ -85,11 +85,11 @@ func KillContainer(experimentsDetails *experimentTypes.ExperimentDetails, client
 
 		switch experimentsDetails.ContainerRuntime {
 		case "docker":
-			if err := StopDockerContainer(containerID, experimentsDetails.SocketPath); err != nil {
+			if err := StopDockerContainer(containerID, experimentsDetails.SocketPath, experimentsDetails.Signal); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		case "containerd", "crio":
-			if err := StopContainerdContainer(containerID, experimentsDetails.SocketPath); err != nil {
+			if err := StopContainerdContainer(containerID, experimentsDetails.SocketPath, experimentsDetails.Signal); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		default:
@@ -152,10 +152,18 @@ func GetContainerID(experimentsDetails *experimentTypes.ExperimentDetails, clien
 }
 
 //StopContainerdContainer kill the application container
-func StopContainerdContainer(containerID, socketPath string) error {
+func StopContainerdContainer(containerID, socketPath, signal string) error {
 	var errOut bytes.Buffer
+	var cmd *exec.Cmd
 	endpoint := "unix://" + socketPath
-	cmd := exec.Command("crictl", "-i", endpoint, "-r", endpoint, "stop", string(containerID))
+	switch signal {
+	case "SIGKILL":
+		cmd = exec.Command("crictl", "-i", endpoint, "-r", endpoint, "stop", "--timeout=0", string(containerID))
+	case "SIGTERM":
+		cmd = exec.Command("crictl", "-i", endpoint, "-r", endpoint, "stop", string(containerID))
+	default:
+		return errors.Errorf("{%v} signal not supported, use either SIGTERM or SIGKILL", signal)
+	}
 	cmd.Stderr = &errOut
 	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
 		return errors.Errorf("Unable to run command, err: %v; error output: %v", err, errOut.String())
@@ -164,10 +172,10 @@ func StopContainerdContainer(containerID, socketPath string) error {
 }
 
 //StopDockerContainer kill the application container
-func StopDockerContainer(containerID, socketPath string) error {
+func StopDockerContainer(containerID, socketPath, signal string) error {
 	var errOut bytes.Buffer
 	host := "unix://" + socketPath
-	cmd := exec.Command("docker", "--host", host, "kill", string(containerID))
+	cmd := exec.Command("docker", "--host", host, "kill", string(containerID), "--signal", signal)
 	cmd.Stderr = &errOut
 	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
 		return errors.Errorf("Unable to run command, err: %v; error output: %v", err, errOut.String())
@@ -268,6 +276,7 @@ func GetENV(experimentDetails *experimentTypes.ExperimentDetails, name string) {
 	experimentDetails.ChaosPodName = Getenv("POD_NAME", "")
 	experimentDetails.SocketPath = Getenv("SOCKET_PATH", "")
 	experimentDetails.ContainerRuntime = Getenv("CONTAINER_RUNTIME", "")
+	experimentDetails.Signal = Getenv("SIGNAL", "SIGKILL")
 }
 
 // Getenv fetch the env and set the default value, if any
diff --git a/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go b/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go
index 52fd29a95..53e8021d1 100644
--- a/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go
+++ b/chaoslib/litmus/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go
@@ -317,6 +317,7 @@ func GetPodEnv(experimentsDetails *experimentTypes.ExperimentDetails, podName st
 		"ITERATIONS":           strconv.Itoa(experimentsDetails.Iterations),
 		"SOCKET_PATH":          experimentsDetails.SocketPath,
 		"CONTAINER_RUNTIME":    experimentsDetails.ContainerRuntime,
+		"SIGNAL":               experimentsDetails.Signal,
 	}
 	for key, value := range ENVList {
 		var perEnv apiv1.EnvVar
diff --git a/chaoslib/pumba/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go b/chaoslib/pumba/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go
index 28c3c280f..28d72b7e1 100644
--- a/chaoslib/pumba/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go
+++ b/chaoslib/pumba/container-kill/lib/container-kill.go
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ func CreateHelperPod(experimentsDetails *experimentTypes.ExperimentDetails, clie
 						strconv.Itoa(experimentsDetails.ChaosInterval) + "s",
 						"kill",
 						"--signal",
-						"SIGKILL",
+						experimentsDetails.Signal,
 						"re2:k8s_" + experimentsDetails.TargetContainer + "_" + appName,
 					},
 					Resources: experimentsDetails.Resources,
diff --git a/pkg/generic/container-kill/environment/environment.go b/pkg/generic/container-kill/environment/environment.go
index 36754e756..433f9b346 100644
--- a/pkg/generic/container-kill/environment/environment.go
+++ b/pkg/generic/container-kill/environment/environment.go
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ func GetENV(experimentDetails *experimentTypes.ExperimentDetails) {
 	experimentDetails.ContainerRuntime = Getenv("CONTAINER_RUNTIME", "docker")
 	experimentDetails.PodsAffectedPerc, _ = strconv.Atoi(Getenv("PODS_AFFECTED_PERC", "0"))
 	experimentDetails.Sequence = Getenv("SEQUENCE", "parallel")
+	experimentDetails.Signal = Getenv("SIGNAL", "SIGKILL")
 }
 
 // Getenv fetch the env and set the default value, if any
diff --git a/pkg/generic/container-kill/types/types.go b/pkg/generic/container-kill/types/types.go
index 6410e3f31..fcf5252e3 100644
--- a/pkg/generic/container-kill/types/types.go
+++ b/pkg/generic/container-kill/types/types.go
@@ -35,4 +35,5 @@ type ExperimentDetails struct {
 	Annotations         map[string]string
 	Sequence            string
 	Resources           corev1.ResourceRequirements
+	Signal              string
 }