Navi Mumbai A two-month old German shepherd is the latest recruit of the Navi Mumbai police force to fight crime in the city. After he completes his training, he will be the first canine to join the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Navi Mumbai police, which did not have a dog till now.
The black and brown pup was born at a Pune-based veterinarian’s farmhouse among a litter of four pups. His siblings are also being inducted at different police forces across Maharashtra.
With the arrival of the newest pup, the Navi Mumbai police have a total of four dogs including the crime branch Dobermann Arya aged three and two Labradors aged three and nine with the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad.
The pup has Arya for company for now but within a week, another pup – a Dobermann – will join the dog unit, police sources said.
The young Dobermann will assist Arya in crime detection. Arya was instrumental in cracking the murder case of a two-year-old boy. The boy was killed by his mother’s live-in partner and his body was dumped by the highway in Panvel in December 2019.
Senior police officials in the commissionerate confirmed that the pup will help them curb the drug menace. Until now, the unit often had to take assistance from the dog unit of the Mumbai police for major hauls.
{{/usCountry}}Senior police officials in the commissionerate confirmed that the pup will help them curb the drug menace. Until now, the unit often had to take assistance from the dog unit of the Mumbai police for major hauls.
{{/usCountry}}The dogs’ recruitment was in the process since 2017. The proposal was granted last year. The pup is being looked after by two women constables, who went through a series of interviews before taking up the job. One of the constables, who has two dogs of her own, has bonded quickly with the new pup.
“We are focusing on getting him attached to the handlers, who look after him in shifts. Currently, he doesn’t have to go through a training regime and is only getting pampered and eating healthy. He gets meals four times a day,” said an officer at the commissioner’s office, requesting anonymity.
In April, as both the pups turn six months, they will begin their training at the dog training centre, the location of which will be decided by the Criminal Investigation Department, Pune. Dogs are trained at Pune, Alwar in Rajasthan and another centre in Madhya Pradesh.
The pup is not officially named yet and is enjoying his probation period chasing butterflies in the police lawns.