New Delhi: Paramilitary forces in the country are all set to induct Indian dog breeds in their K9 squad as the trial of domestic 'Mudhol Hound' breed has already been concluded by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs told ETV Bharat that the trial of a few other Indian dog breeds is also undergoing, including the 'Rampur Hound' (native of northern India) by BSF and 'Combai' (native to Tamil Nadu) by CRPF.
The Home Ministry has also ordered trial of Himalayan Mountain Dog (like Himachali Shepherd, Gaddi, Bakharwal, Tibetan Mastiff) simultaneously by BSF, ITBP and SSB which is currently underway. As of now, paramilitary forces are using foreign dog breeds like German Shepherds, Labradors and Belgian Malinois.
"The Home Ministry presently acquires around 300 puppies a year," sources said. With around 4,000 canines, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are the largest police dog users in the country.
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The dogs are trained for tasks such as guard duty, patrolling, sniffing explosives including IEDs, mine detection, and sniffing contraband items including drugs. The dogs are also being trained for attacking purpose. All dogs being used by paramilitary forces are members of 'Police K9 Cell' which was established under the police modernization division in 2019 with the mandate of mainstreaming and augmentation of Police Service K9 (PSK) teams in the country.
"Substantial progress has been made within a short period of time by successfully achieving the modernization of the current K9 practices as per contemporary dog training techniques prevalent worldwide," sources said. A large number of SOPs and policy directives have been formulated and issued with an aim to bring in uniformity of best practices on PSKs among different CAPFs and to also achieve vital interoperability among diverse police forces and law enforcement organizations.
The Home Ministry has also taken several other steps to strengthen the culture and ecosystem of mutual learning and cooperation among CAPFs and other police as well as law enforcement organization on PSKs.
