New Delhi: Indian dog breeds are likely to be deployed for police duties including sniffing out suspects, narcotics and explosives soon, officials said on Monday (October 23).
The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the BSF, CRPF and CISF will recruit Indian dog breeds for police duties. The breeds will include Rampur hound, Himalayan mountain canines Himachali shepherd, Gaddi and Bakharwal and the Tibetan mastiff, out of whom the trials of a few Rampur Hound are underway.
An order has been issued for the testing of Himalayan mountain canines.
Currently, almost all police dogs which are deployed on duties are foreign breeds like the German shepherd, Labrador, Belgian Malinois and Cocker spaniel.
"The trial of the Indian dog breed Mudhol hound has already been concluded by the SSB and the ITBP. Trials of a few other Indian dog breeds like the Rampur hound are also undergoing at the canine training centres of the CRPF and the BSF," a home ministry official said.
The Ministry has also ordered trials of the Himalayan mountain dogs like the Himachali shepherd, Gaddi, Bakharwal and the Tibetan mastiff by the BSF, ITBP and SSB. Their trials are underway now.
PM Modi promotes local dog breeds
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the past, has spoken regarding the promotion of local dog breeds through scientific means.
All dogs hired by the CAPFs are part of the Police Service K9 (PSKs) squads. The CAPFs which hire and train the dogs for police duties are the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG and the Assam Rifles.
Work of police dogs
The police dogs are trained to accomplish tasks like the detection of explosives such as IEDs and mines, narcotics and fake currencies, besides patrolling among others.
According to the official, dogs are also used in search operations sometimes to locate terrorists.
The home ministry has also taken a few vital steps to strengthen the culture and ecosystem of mutual learning and cooperation among the CAPFs and other police and law enforcement organisations on the issue of PSKs.
The CAPFs which have nearly 4,000 dogs are the largest police dog users in India. The force hires nearly 300 pups every year.
Among the CAPFs, the largest number of dogs are with the Central Reserve Police Force (around 1,500), followed by the Central Industrial Security Force (around 700).
National Security Guard (NSG) has nearly 100 dogs, another official said.
K9 squad
The K9 squad was set up by the home ministry as part of its police modernisation programme in 2019 with an aim to streamline the breeding, training and selection of dogs.
The home ministry, under whose command the CAPFs and several other forces work, has formulated a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the K9 squads of these forces and has directed them to include it in their dog-training curriculum.
"The ambit of internal security was widening, the difference between internal and external security threats was getting narrower, and police and CAPF dogs were an effective force multiplier for ensuring safety and security of the troops in operations and also the citizens," the official said.
(With PTI inputs)
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