Bhopal: The decision of the Madhya Pradesh government to transfer 46 police dogs alongwith their handlers has triggered a political slugfest in the state, with the BJP accusing the Kamal Nath regime of not sparing even canines in their “transfer business”.
The current transfers were necessitated due to the ageing of some dogs serving at the Chief Minister’s residence. Simala Prasad, Commandant 23rd battalion who issued the orders, said: “Rima and Jaya, who have been in the Chief Minister's residence for almost two years, have been replaced due to ageing. Both of them had completed over nine years of service.”
Three new dogs — Sikandar, Duffy and Renu — have now been placed at the Chief Minister Kamal Nath's residence. Eight-year-old Duffy was till recently posted in Chhindwara. Renu is a month elder to Duffy. These three sniffer dogs have been trained in the 23rd Battalion of Special Armed Force of the state government.
The previous BJP-led government had also carried out a similar exercise nearly three years ago without issuing a press hand-out. This is the first time when the posting list of a large number of police dogs has been released and the police department treats it as a routine exercise.
However, the transfers have set the opposition’s tongues wagging, with BJP state vice-president Vijesh Lunawat tweeting: “The Great Kamal Nath Government did not spare even dogs from the transfer business. Dog squad transferred in Madhya Pradesh.”
The state police had also acquired two Belgian Malinois pups in April and they, along with 24 other newly acquired dogs, are being trained at the same battalion. So far, these dogs have been used by the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Forest Department.
The preliminary 12-week training has been completed at the police training school (PTS) in the state capital. The next phase would include a nine-month schedule in three steps. They will specialise in detecting cases as trackers, sniffers and narcotics detectors. The training will also include mingling in crowd, house manners and obedience.
According to the order, the handlers of the tracker, sniffer and narcotics dogs from 23 Battalion Dog Squad have been given new postings in different districts of the state and have been ordered to rejoin immediately along with their dogs.
The government has, for some years, discontinued the ranking of dogs as constables, sub-inspectors etc.
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