Bishan has been the pride of dog squad for the past seven years but now he is ready to retire.

At present, the state dog squad has 16 canines like Bishan. As most of the dogs are on the verge of retirement, the police headquarters has decided to purchase 40 canines during 2013-14, who would replace the existing ones. “We have booked 20 seats each for the training of pups at the BSF’s training centre in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh, and that of the Indo Tibetan Border Police in Uttarakhand for 2013-14,” said Kamal Kishore Singh, the CID deputy inspector-general of police.

Singh told The Telegraph that once the seats are booked, the purchase committee would buy the pups. “We have plans to raise 50 special dog squad units in the state to accelerate the pace of scientific investigation and quick detection of incidents of crime,” he said, adding that each district would have four dogs.

He said the police preferred to buy Labradors only. “Labradors are useful for us. The atmosphere is congenial for this breed only. Earlier, we had German Shepherds (Alsatian). But they suffered from started nasal bleeding. Many of them died,” said Srivastava.

Bishan, who had several medals to his credit, has helped in solving murder cases and detecting explosive substances. The credit of solving the murder of an 11-year-old boy in Kurji locality (near Sadaquat Ashram) under the jurisdiction of Patliputra police station in Patna goes to Bishan. He helped the police identity the alleged killer Badri Dom, 15, after the recovery of the victim’s body. The case was solved within 12 hours of the incident on March 31 this year.

Raju Kumar Singh, a constable with the Patna dog squad, is considered to be an expert in selecting the pups. Singh said though the personnel at the kennel tried to hide the age of the pups, their actual age could be ascertained with their teeth. Raju said the pups would have to undergo at least six-month training at the centre. “By March next year, we hope to get new trained dogs who would be deployed in the field duty,” he said.

Bishan is also a blood donor. He donated blood to Jyoti, a female canine, when the latter was sick about five years ago. “I doubt we will get such a disciplined and intelligent dog. He is the pride of the department,” handler Rajak said.

Data available at the state dog squad said that the dogs were pressed into service over 300 times in 2012. The number could cross 500 this year, an official said, adding that the dogs played crucial role in cracking at least 15 cases in Patna, Nalanda, Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Rohtas and Vaishali districts in the recent past.