Bihar to spend Rs.17 crore on 200 police dogs

Bihar has decided to buy 200 canines of various breeds at an estimated cost of Rs.17 crore in order to raise 50 more dog squad units to help police in their investigations, officials said Thursday.

"Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has approved the proposal to deploy a dog squad in each district to help police in speedy and scientific investigation of crimes," a state home department official said.

The dogs inducted in the police department would be trained in detection (sniffer) and tracking.

Of the 50 dog squads to be raised, 11 will be stationed in the state's various ranges, zones and the police headquarters here, while the rest will be deputed in each of the state's 39 districts, an official at the police headquarters said.

"A tender will be issued on national level to buy the dogs belonging to breeds like Doberman, Labrador and Alsatian. Each squad will have four dogs - two sniffers (detection dogs) and two trackers," the official added.

All the dogs will be sent to train with the army, para military forces and police in various parts of the country.

At present, the Bihar Police have 33 trained dogs stationed at various police ranges across the state.