With the onset of summer vacations, special trains in addition to the already running trains and the extra rush of passengers arriving at railway stations, security of Railway property and passengers is the topmost priority of Central Railway.
The Railway Protection Force which is responsible for the security of railway property and passengers is taking all possible steps to beef up the security measures and one of them is in its Dog Squad. Central Railway, Railway Protection Force, Mumbai division has an efficient team of well trained sniffer dogs as part of its Dog Squad. There are 29 such Canine Heroes of which 18 are deployed for the detection of bombs and explosives, 4 are deployed for detection of narcotics and 7 are deployed for crime investigation.
Dhurva, Oscar, Maggie, Teepu, Danny, Jimmy, Jiva and Bond are some of the most smart and able dogs in the squad who have helped detect explosives, narcotics and have played an important role in not only aiding security personnel but also solving many criminal cases.
These dogs are housed and trained at special Kennels situated at Matunga, Carnac Bunder, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Kalyan and are trained and handled by an efficient team of handlers viz. Head Constables Bharat Jadhav, Mitesh Ambetkar, Constable J P Gaikwad, Bajrang Nagargoje, Ravindra Jhambhe, S G Gaikwad and Constables Sachin Gupta, Kishor Pawar, D S Yadav, Ramveer Singh, Tanaji Kamble and Yogesh Meena.
Most of these Canine Heroes are Labradors and Doberman, although recently some puppies of Belgian Shepherd have been acquired. During the year 2022 a total of 14 Dog puppies were purchased. Of these, 8 Labrador and 1 Doberman puppies have been given to Mumbai Division and of the 05 Belgian Shepherds, 3 have been given to Pune Division and 1 each for Nagpur and Bhusaval division. These puppies will be nurtured, raised and trained to replace the existing force of Dog Squad when they retire.
These Super Dogs of Central Railway have also proven their mettle outside Railways when they have been called upon by the State Government to help solve crimes. These Canines are given ranks and promotion on the basis of their achievements and performance.
Their contribution in providing security to railway property and passengers proves the slogan right that “ A Dog is Man’s best friend”
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