Dhanbad, Sept. 14: Increased security concerns at Dhanbad rail division, after the inception of 18 live bombs with detonators found in a passenger train, have prompted the divisional security commissioner to step up demands for a sniffer dog squad.

In July, the district police, in a joint operation with rail police, seized a suitcase containing live bombs from a compartment of the Gaya-Asansol passenger train.

In a letter written to the security chief at Hajipur, the zonal headquarters of East Central Railway, commandant-cum-divisional security commissioner of Dhanbad rail division S.R. Gandhi demanded the deployment of dog squad in the division .

?The availability of sniffer dogs provides assistance to security personnel in case of a bomb scare. The need for sniffer dogs was urgently felt after we received a tip-off regarding explosives being hidden in the luggage in a compartment. We often fail to nab the culprits if we opt for a manual check as had happened a couple of months ago.?

He added that sniffer dogs would speed up the detection process.

Gandhi had also sent a requisition for a dog squad consisting of trackers because these dogs can help them nab culprits by tracking the path they may have taken to escape.

?A requisition for the deployment of a dog squad at Dhanbad rail division was sent to the zonal headquarters immediately after the East Central railway zone was carved out of Eastern Railway a couple of years ago, but the request was not heeded to at that time,? added Gandhi.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel from Dhanbad rail division will be sent for training to the railway dog-training centre at Dayabasti in New Delhi, after the dog squad becomes a reality in the division.

Earlier, the Dhanbad rail division had also sent a requisition for Insas rifles, the Indian version of Russian AK-47 rifles, to enhance the striking power of the escort party travelling on the trains for passengers? security and safeguarding the railway property.

Around 40 such weapons have been demanded to increase the firepower of the RPF men currently armed with self-loading rifles and carbines.

The Dhanbad rail division will also provide luminous jackets to the RPF men to identify them at night to ease the identification of men in uniform at night.

Around 25 luminous jackets in orange or green will be kept for men who are sent to an accident site for their easy identification.