Tatanagar railway police are in search of a tracker dog to replace the existing one that is scheduled to retire in July.
Dobermann Shakti will retire from service after completeing 10 years in July.
Inspector of Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Tatanagar, M.K. Sahoo, said they were in search of a dobermann who could replace Shakti. “We will not only have to seek a new dog, but also get it trained so that it can be pressed into service immediately after Shakti’s retirement,” Sahoo said.
The RPF inspector said Shakti was an asset for them.
“It was Shakti who helped us to successfully investigate the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl after its abduction from Tatanagaron July 25. Shakti has solved several theft cases registered with the railway police stations under Chakradharpur division,” the RPF inspector said.
A three-member team of trainers has already reached Tatanagar RPF post to provide basic training to the new tracker dog at Tatanagar and Chennai.
One of the trainers, Krishna Aditya, who is from the RPF post in Kharagpur, said that the team was in Tatanagar to facilitate the induction of new tracker and sniffer dogs.
“There are three posts for trackers and sniffers in the Tatanagar dog squad, which is under the RPF. At present, there is only one tracker dog (Shakti) and one sniffer dog (Rockey). The other post of a sniffer dog is lying vacant for quite a long time. We are here to find out one tracker dog and one sniffer dog and are likely to start a formal search after the nod from the divisional security commissioner (Tatanagar),” Aditya said.
The trainer said a tracker or a sniffer dog was brought at the tender age of three to five months and inducted into the dog squad after formal training at a centre either in Chennai or Delhi.
“Once a member of the dog squad retires, it is handed over to a trust. We hope Shakti will also be given to a trust after its farewell in July,” Aditya said, adding that it would be difficult to let go of Shakti with whom the RPF personnel have developed an emotional bond over the years.
