Sharp nose

Patna, Jan. 20: The state police are set to get canine reinforcements.

While there are 24 trained dogs with the state police, nine dogs trained in tracking and sniffing will be bought from the dog breeding centre of the Indian Army in Meerut. The proposal has been sent to the state police headquarters.

The state police headquarters had announced that bomb squads would be given tracker dogs after two bomb squad members died in Gaya district last year during the Assembly elections.

The dogs serving the state police right now have all been bought from the Border Security Force Academy in Tekanpur, Gwalior. An officer said: “The dogs, which come fully trained cost around Rs 85,000 each. The ones that come without training in their respective fields cost around Rs 18,000.”

However, the ones that are to be bought from the army will come at a much higher price.

The officer said: “If all goes well, the dogs will come to us in three months. The cost of each of the dogs, after full training, will be around Rs 1.5 lakh. There are three kinds of training facilities available for canines. The sniffers are used at the crime scene to track criminals. The second are expert in tracking landmines and IEDs. These dogs are used in the Maoist-hit areas. The third kind of training involves sniffing out suspected objects lying in the open.”

Meanwhile, of the 24 dogs available with the state police, 11 Labradors, are with the Patna police. Three of the canines are trackers, three experts in tracking mines and IEDs and the remaining are experts in sniffing out bombs. But one of the tracker dogs is out of service. Sources said Handi, the tracker, lost her eyesight two months back at the Sonepur Fair. Though being treated at the moment, she is not showing much of improvement and is giving the dog squad trainers sleepless nights.

An officer in the dog squad told The Telegraph: “Handi was inducted in the force in 2006. She is old — her teeth have become rough and crooked. But she was fine when she was deputed at the Sonepur fair last year. By the end of the fair, she began losing her eyesight and now she is completely blind.”