CRPF's sniffer dog killed in IED blast; handler injured

A sniffer dog of the CRPF died and its handler injured today when a pressure bomb planted by Maoists went off in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said.
The incident occurred at around 1620 hrs when a Road Opening Party (ROP) of CRPF's 170thbattalion was returning to its camp after a combing operation in Modakpal police station area, a district police official told PTI.
The ROP, accompanied by a snifferdog, had launched the operation from its camp in Chinna Kodepal village.
Just 2km ahead of the camp, the canine, named Cracker, sniffed a pressure IED (improvised explosive device). The device got triggered probably due to some movement during sniffingand exploded, killing the canine, he said.

Its handler, constable B Bhanu Prakash Reddy, received minor injuries on his hand, the official said.
Cracker, a Belgian shepherd (Malinois) breeddog, was inducted into the CRPF battalion in December 2015, he said.