On November 8, 2007, Blacky, a sniffer dog of the Nepal Police had traced the place where journalist Sah´s body was buried. As the Narayani Zonal Police Office had no sniffer dogs at that time, Blacky was taken from the Central Police Dog Training School (CPDTS), Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, to Bara.[break]
Dr Pramod Raj Bhatta, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at the CPDTS, says the Bara police knew that Sah´s dead body was buried in the Dumkhana jungle, but they could not locate the exact spot. "The jungle was vast," says Dr Bhatta. "And, we could not have traced Sah´s body without Blacky´s support."
Sah was kidnapped and killed in October 2007. Later, the UCPN (Maoist), through a statement, admitted to killing Sah.
Similarly, the police in Thamel found half a kilo drugs from a boy´s bag on May 31 with the help of a sniffer dog.
It was another dog named Lussy who assisted the police in arresting the boy, who was later identified as Kalyan Lamsal from Dhading.
There are a number of cases which the Nepal Police solved with the help of trained sniffer dogs.
These dogs provide the police with clues that many times prove crucial in expediting investigation or even solving a case.
The dogs are trained and operated by Central Police Dog Training School (CPDTS) of the Nepal Police. Today, there are 34 dogs in the training school, out of which 24 are German Shepherd, eight Labrador and two Cocker Spaniel.
Nepal Police have used them in detect explosives, identify drugs, rescue works, among others.
"The demand of such dogs is very high as they help in investigative works," said Bhatta. "Today, apart from Nepal Police, even the general public seeks the help of these dogs for investigation."
After realizing the need of dogs in investigative work, the Nepal Police brought four trained dogs from Malaysia and some police officers were sent to the country to receive training in handling the dogs in 1969.
A Police Dog Section was established in 1975 with 10 staffs. The section was upgraded to Central Police Dog Training School in 1990 following its continuous achievements and the need felt in view of increasing criminal activities.
Today, there is a Regional Dog Section in all the five development regions.
In the eastern office of the Nepal Police, there are six dogs, while the regional office in the mid-west has five. Similarly, six dogs are providing service in the west, and five in far west office of the Nepal Police.
According to veterinarians, dogs´ sense of smell is 50 times more powerful than that of human beings. They are also highly sensitive and indicate about impending danger through different behavior such as barking, sitting in silence and some of them start scratching the ground.
"It also depends on how the trainers teach the dogs to react in a specific situation," said Bhatta. "Once trained, the dogs are very obedient and dutiful."
Interview
´We need more sniffer dogs´
Dr Deuti Gurung
Chief, Central Police Dog Training School
Nepal Police
How important is Central Police Dog Training School to Nepal Police?
Today, dogs are needed for any sort of investigation as they track down criminals and narrow down the horizon of investigation. They help the police in tracing clues in a crime. Similarly, they are used in detecting explosives and drugs cases. Likewise, they help identify people involved in crime.
What kind of training is provided to them?
Training is based on the nature of work they are required to do in future. At first, we decide the work for each dog according to their nature and physical power. And then we train them accordingly.
Which kind of trained dogs is highly demanded for investigation?
Tracker dogs are highly used in crime investigation. They help in locating criminals and collect evidences.
Does Nepal Police have sufficient number of dogs for the capital´s security?
Absolutely not. We just have 34 dogs in our training school which is not enough. Some of them are still in the learning phase and some of them are not well. As a result we are not able to provide services to all. Sniffer dogs must be kept at all the important places like airports, border cities, houses of VIPs and VVIPs, among others.
Are you planning to add more dogs?
The problem is not only of fewer dogs but also of limited manpower. We only have 42 staff to look after the dogs. Actually, two guards are needed for a dog but we do not have the manpower and it is not possible to hire them at present. For now, these dogs are more than enough for us to handle.
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