Ludhiana's sniffer squad has no dogs
Still, they do not have the most dependable partners they could hope for — dogs.
Since the dog squad has not had a dog for the past one year, the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate has been banking on dogs of the Government Railway Police (GRP) or Ludhiana Rural Police. Pixie, who was the only dog Ludhiana Police had, died in 2023. Since then, city police have been borrowing dogs for VIP duty and other tasks.
The dog squad has certainly seen happier days.
Pixie, a tracker, was preceded by two explosive experts, Sheru and Binny, as well as one narcotics expert, Sandy. Binni retired in 2020 and Sandy died in 2021. Another dog, Sheru developed a joint problem and had to retired in 2022.
An official said that the age of a dog working in a canine squad is approximately 10 years. Trained to sniff out explosives, drugs and used as trackers, their olfactory senses are used much more than other dogs.
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However, this takes a toll on their health and their organs tend to weaken early.
A retired cop, who headed the dog squad, said, "It takes at least five months to train the dogs and make the specialists under various categories. Punjab Police Academy (PPA), Phillaur purchases pups, which are sent to different districts. Thereafter, the dogs are trained by experts.
He added that while the average age of a dog is 14 to 15 years, dogs in the canine squad have fewer years as they exhaust their lungs sniffing contraband.
An official of the city police said on condition of anonymity that the demand for at least five dogs in the police commissionerate has been submitted repeatedly. In view of frequent VIP movement in the city, police have sought three explosive specialists, a tracker and a narcotics specialist.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) - headquarter Harjinder Singh Mann refused to comment saying that it was an internal issued linked to security.
Inspector Palwinder Singh, SHO, GRP said, "We have one explosive specialised dog named Pinki, who we use for checking at the railway station and also send checking during VIP movement."
Box- How dogs are trained
A PPA Phillaur committee purchases the dogs when they are a few months old. The pups are trained by dog squad handlers and training sessions are organised at PPA, Phillaur every year.
Box- One-time Canine Squad
Tracker specialist- Pixie (German shepherd)
Explosive specialist- Sheru (Labrador)
Narcotic specialist- Sandy (Labrador)
Explosive specialist- Binny (Labrador)
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