Sniffing out trouble: Baby at work. Picture by Sanjay Choudhary

Patna, Dec. 11: A big woof for this one. A member of Bihar police’s dog squad is set to get a promotion which will make her of higher rank than her constable handler.

Baby, a Labrador, wears the distinction of cracking six cases of loot, dacoity and murder on her collar in a short span of time.

Yesterday, Rohtas superintendent of police (SP) Manu Maharaj sent a proposal to the state police headquarters, recommending Baby’s promotion to the rank of an assistant sub-inspector on the basis of her excellent performance in the Shahabad range.

Once promoted, Baby would have the rare distinction of being the only ASI among 16 members of her team, which sniffs out crime and detects explosive substances across the state. Around 110cm in length and 56cm tall, Baby was purchased from Rawalpindi cantonment board, Meerut, in 2006. She was kept at the state police headquarters for about a month and subsequently shifted to the Shahabad range. Since then, she has been on the job and solved several complicated cases.

Last week, Baby helped the Rohtas police crack a major loot case for the Dehri police within a few hours of the incident. “It was not possible to solve the loot case without Baby’s help in such a short span,” said the Rohtas SP. He said not only were the criminals nabbed but also cash and plenty of jewellery which had been snatched from the victims at gunpoint were recovered. “I am proud of Baby’s splendid work,” Maharaj said.

The SP has also recommended a suitable reward for Baby’s handler, Panna Lal Singh, who is a constable, and will be junior in rank to the Lab if she is promoted.

Singh is happy over the police chief’s recommendation for Baby but at the same time he is envious of the canine. “I am a constable even after 13 years of service in the state police force,” he told The Telegraph by phone from Rohtas.

Singh said after Baby’s promotion, other dogs would have to “salute” her and her salary would also be enhanced. She would be assigned only important work. At present, Baby gets a salary of Rs 350 a day, which is spent on her food and upkeep. She gets 500ml milk, 117gm rotis and an egg as food in the morning, while her evening meal comprises 930gm mutton, 233gm rice and 117gm of green vegetables.

Sources said the state police dog squad has 16 canines. Of them, nine are sniffer dogs, six are mines dogs (experts in detection of explosive substances) and three are trackers (who help detect crime). Om Prakash Srivastava, the in-charge of the dog squad, said nine canines are deployed in Patna, two each in Muzaffarpur, Rohtas and Gaya and one in Bhagalpur. One of them has recently been sent to Gaya from Patna for treatment, he added.