In a bid to step up security at Indira Gandhi International Airport and combat terror-threats in the national Capital, 30 new labrador dogs — specialists in detecting explosives and picking up clues from places of crime — were inducted in Delhi Police dog squad on Monday.
The batch of dogs, including eight males and 22 females, aged between two and three years, cost around Rs two lakh each. “The squad first underwent qualifying tests at the Indian Army’s Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) base in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh and were brought to Delhi ten days back,” said Delhi Police PRO, Rajan Bhagat.
The newly-inducted dogs were given a warm welcome at India Gate lawn where Delhi lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung was the chief guest. Along with him, Delhi Police Chief Alok Verma, Special and Joint Commissioners of police and Deputy Commissioners of police were also present.
With the addition of 30 new dogs, the number of canines in the Delhi Police dog squad has soared up to 60. While, 45 among the canines belong to the sniffer category; 15 dogs will be used for tracking purposes.
“Earlier there were only 25 sniffers and 5 tracking dogs in the squad,” said Bhagat. “The number of dogs had fallen down from 108 to 60 due to death of dogs over sickness,” said one of the handlers. The last induction of dogs was just before the Commonwealth Games in 2010, when the squad had peak strength of 108.
The dog squad, to be kept in Model Town squad headquarters, will be seen working during several national and international-level events that remain on the radar of terror attacks. “From detection of explosives of all kinds to tracking down any accused, these canines will be useful,” said Bhagat. There is no new induction of dogs for narcotic detection.
The entire dog squad will assume significance during festivals and VVIP functions.
While the dog squad in-charge Dharamvir told The Pioneer that the dog breed ‘German Shepherd’ is the king of all, none of them were inducted in the new batch. “The breed was available at RVC. However, Delhi weather would have affected their functioning,” said Dharamvir. Currently, there are eight German Shepherds and four Cocker Spaniels in the squad.
During their induction programme, canines were put up for a 10 minutes show where they presented their skills. To commands like, ‘uth’ (get up), ‘tham,’ (stop), ‘late,’ (lie down) and jump, all the canines responded. All the canines started their training from the age of six months, said handler Vidya Sagar.
“Each dog is given daliya (porridge), roti and milk in the morning while meat in the evening,” said Dharamvir, adding, “We shower them once in a week. And look after them well.”