The Malinois, a short-haired version of the Belgian Shepherd, will soon form the mainstay of the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) sniffer dog squads deployed in Naxal-hit areas. They will replace the hugely-popular breeds in use till now, labrador and German Shepherd, whose operational productivity in hot and humid conditions in Naxal-affected areas has not been found up to the mark by handlers.

The elite anti-Naxal force Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) under the CRPF and the paramilitary’s Western and Odisha sectors have sought withdrawal of labradors and asked for the breed to be replaced with Malinois, a breed that was also used by US Navy Seals in the raid at Abbottabad in Pakistan against then al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin laden.

While the CoBRA and Western Sector maintained that labrador sniffer dogs are unsuitable for the hot and humid climate of the Naxal-affected areas, the Odisha Sector has put it on record that these dogs are not very physically efficient and unable to walk long distances during operations or in long range patrols.

Besides the CoBRA, Odisha and Western Sector have maintained that Malinois are physically tough, agile and more suited for anti-Naxal operations.

The CRPF’s Dog Breeding & Training School (DB&TS) at Taralu in Bengaluru is now breeding only Malinois and they are being deployed in Naxal-hit areas after training. “However, the school has not been able to provide dogs as per requirements of the CRPF and CoBRA battalions deployed in Naxal areas. Hence, a proposal for increasing breeding capacity of the DB&TS, Taralu is in active consideration of the CRPF Directorate,” a senior CRPF official said.

“The labradors and German Shepherds available in the Naxal areas are being transferred out in a phased manner,” the official added.

The dogs trained at DB&TS are mostly used for searching IEDs concealed under the earth by the ultras in the Naxal-hit zones.

The dogs are also trained to be agile and carry out assault, engage in room intervention, participate in slithering and rappelling by handlers and undertake multiple attacks against the enemy.