E-Paper
Ghaziabad police’s tracker dog Leena helps cops arrest three in blind murder case
Two-and-half-year-old Labrador Leena got treats from the Ghaziabad police after she managed to crack a blind case that led to arrest of three men for the murder
Two-and-half-year-old Labrador Leena got treats from the Ghaziabad police after she managed to crack a blind case that led to arrest of three men for the murder a 24-year-old man on the night of May 31.
According to police, Leena pinpointed location of the prime suspect, about 2km away from the scene of the crime. Her feat also saved four innocent persons, who were the initial suspects in the case, from further probe and prosecution.
According to police, the deceased man, identified as Vivek Kumar, was a contractual employee with the electricity department and was returning home to Kushaliya locality under the jurisdiction of Masuri police station area when he was killed.
Midway, his motorcycle had hit prime suspect, Mohsin alias Kauwa, and he along with two accomplices, Adil and Salman, ended up strangling the victim and stealing the motorcycle, Kumar’s phone and other belongings.
“Leena was roped in to track the killers after Kumar’s body was found in the fields on the morning of June 1. The body had a belt tied around the neck, indicating strangulation. Leena picked up the scent of his attackers ran to a primary school where she started barking and scratching the gate of the school. We suspected that the suspect(s) had a connection to the school,” Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, superintendent of police (rural), said.
Leena, police said, was specially trained at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) facility in Uttarakhand and had joined a team of six other dogs of the Ghaziabad police about four months ago.
“Our teams fanned out near the school and found that Mohsin’s house was about 50 metres from the school and they had visited the closed school to consume alcohol on the night of the murder. Upon further investigation, we found that Mohsin has previous criminal cases against him. Finally, our teams tracked the three suspects and arrested them on Thursday. The clues given by Leena helped out teams solve the murder case and the suspects were nabbed,” Jadaun said.
As a reward for her work, Leena got a new strap leash, a bed and utensils, besides a special dinner.
The police said Kumar’s family initially suspected role of his four friends in the murder, and they were picked up for questioning by the police. With Leena’s ‘investigation’, the four men were cleared of all further probe.
Police said Kumar’s bike hit Mohsin who was sitting with two other accomplices. The three suspects allegedly robbed him of his belongings, before Kumar to death and leaving his body in the fields nearby.
“The investigation concluded that the keys to the locked school was with Mohsin’s relative and the three suspects often came to the school during in the evenings to consume alcohol. That was why Leena tracked them to the school,”Jadaun added.
The police booked the three men under the IPC sections 302 (murder) and 394 (robbery) and under the provisions of the SC/ST Act.
