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DOG SQUAD: THE ‘CANINE HEROES’ OF EASTERN RAILWAY
Kolkata, July 13, 2023 :
Eastern Railway under the able guidance of Shri Amar Prakash Dwivedi, General Manager/ Eastern Railway is taking all possible steps to ensure safety and security at Railway premises and also maintaining a peaceful atmosphere. Shri Paramshiv, IG-cum-Principal Chief Security Commissioner/ Railway Protection Force/ Eastern Railway is also very keen to execute the directions of the General Manager/ Eastern Railway and take all possible measures to augment the security of the passengers at the Railway premises.
Supplementing the strength of Eastern Railway’s RPF team, Super Dogs in the ‘Dog Squad’ of the Railway Protection Force of Eastern Railway have proven their mettle on several occasions. These Canines are given ranks and promotions on the basis of their achievements and performance. Dogs provide a viable and effective alternative to technology. Sniffer dogs, owing to their natural sniffing capabilities, have been successful in detecting explosives. Moreover, certain breeds of dogs can also track down the accused suspects in real-time based on their power of sniffing. A single search and rescue dog can accomplish the work of 20-30 human searchers.
Dogs due to certain inherent qualities have become an integral and extremely useful tool for the security forces in modern times. It is known for its extraordinary power of sniffing which is almost 100 times that of humans, ultrasonic hearing and natural vision capability, and readiness to work under all geo-climatic conditions. It is aggressive, alert, loyal, relatively inexpensive, and easy to train.
The utility of dogs in Policing work extended even to explosives detection, as a tracker and guard, for narcotic detection, and for search and rescue operations at Disaster Management sites. Keeping in view of the threat perception to the Railways from the insurgents, left-wing extremists, and the criminals operating on the system, the importance of sniffer dogs as an aid to Security is very high on the Railways followed by trackers and other types of trained dogs. The High-Level Committee on Security of Railways set up by the MHA and the Ministry of Railways also proposed that a dog squad must be part of all bomb detection teams.
Eastern Railway/RPF, has efficient teams of well-trained sniffers, trackers, and Narcotic dogs as part of its Dog Squad. There are 32 such Canine Heroes (13 in Howrah Division, 08 in Sealdah Division, 05 in Asansol, and 06 in Malda Division) of which 23 are Sniffers deployed for detection of Bombs/Explosion and wildlife, 07 Tracker deployed for Crime Investigation and 02 Narcotic Detector deployed for detection of smuggling cases.
Cooper, Ruffel, Oliver, Zino, Duke, Badsah, Misti, Krish, Romeo, Paddy, Oreo, Jack, and Alex are some of the most smart and able dogs in the squad who have helped in the detection of narcotics, Wild Life and have played an important role in not only aiding security personnel but also solving many criminal cases.
It is worth noting that Dog ‘Badsah’ of RPF/Dog Squad/Howrah Division has assisted in the detection of a Foreign Cigarette Case worth Rs 10,26,000/- with the arrest of 01 smugglers in the year 2022. Dog ‘Misti’ of Howrah helped in the detection of ‘Ganja’ worth Rs 6,90,000/- with 01 arrests. Dog ‘Cooper’ of Howrah tracked and rescued 50 tortoises from Howrah Railway Station.
On the other hand, Dog ‘ALEX’ has played a vital role in the investigation of a murder case vide Local P.S./SGG case no- 493/22 dated 19.12.2022 U/s 302,201,120B, 34 IPC and helped in the arrest of prime accused ‘Chotu Kumar’.
These dogs are housed and trained at special Kennels situated at RPF Dog Training Squad/Dayabasti/New Delhi, K-9 Training Center/Pune, RPF/Training Center/Podanur/ Tamilnadu and BSF Training Center/Tekanpur/Gwalior are trained and handled by an efficiently trained team of RPF Dog handlers.
Most of these Canine Heroes are Labradors, German Shephard (Sniffer) and Doberman and Belgium Malinois Shephard (Tracker).
RPF dogs are generally used for Anti-Sabotage checking, frisking of parcels, luggage, suspicious (unattended) baggage, etc.
Not only this, but these Super Dogs of Eastern Railway have also proven their mettle outside Railways when they have been called upon by the State Government to help solve crimes. These Canines are given ranks and promotions on the basis of their achievements and performance.
