‘Amro is like my child’: Meet the handlers from Delhi Police’s K9 squad

Pawan is among the 119 dog handlers of the Delhi Police’s K9 squad who are currently awaiting the induction of 34 puppies, which are below the age of one year and are undergoing a six-month training at the ITBP training camp in Haryana, and 13 trained dogs, around 2 years old, from the Indian Army for preparation in the run-up to the G20 Summit.

According to Pawan, training a dog requires bonding well with the canine, something that only a handler can accomplish.

“Initially, it is undoubtedly tough, similar to how it is with your own child. The puppy makes mistakes, but it understands and doesn’t repeat it when we scold… we give a treat every time a job is done well. During a dog’s training, a communication link is first established between the handler and the dog, after which basic house manners are taught to tone down its aggressiveness. Following this, we train the dog to quickly respond to work commands,” he added.

Some handlers go and train puppies at the ITBP’s centre during the six months while they require around a month to get along with the trained dogs.

“A police dog will only listen to his trainer… it is a huge moment of pride for the handler if his dog helps the police crack a big case or detects a large drug consignment. Since most of us handlers have pet dogs in our houses and are dog lovers, this does not feel like a job… there is a sense of mutual respect and we don’t consider ourselves their masters,” he said.

Head constable Lalit Kumar, handler of eight-year-old tracker Labrador Mickey who came trained from the Army, said that every day, after the dogs are let out of their kennels, they are given a bath by the handlers and are fed. Then, they undergo multiple training sessions depending on the speciality of the canine.

“If it is an explosive-detection dog, we fix an explosive-like object inside a suitcase or a car and ask the dog to sniff it out. If it’s a narcotics-detection dog, we bury drugs in the ground. Tracking dogs are made to track a specific human scent,” Kumar said.

The Delhi Police currently has 52 dogs, out of which nine are tracker dogs, three are for detecting narcotics and 40 are explosive-detection dogs.
Kumar said: “For the G20 Summit, responsibilities of the handlers and the dogs have increased, so we can ensure that the capital is safe… The number of mock drills, where we test the dogs by placing bombs or narcotics in public areas, have also increased. It is important to train them to perfection and not leave anything to chance.”

While the K9 squad, controlled by the Crime Branch, has its headquarters at the Model Town Police Station, there are around six of these canines in dogs squads in local police stations in each district.

Handler to Rocky, an explosive-detecting six-year-old Belgian Malinois, head constable Vidya Sagar said: “Whenever we receive a call regarding a dog requirement for a bomb call or a murder spot, handlers along with their dogs rush to the site… It is a scary scenario when both handler and dog are near what might possibly be a bomb but it is the duty of me and my dog to ensure that common people are left out of harm’s way,” Sagar said.

Following the dogs’ retirement, which is after around eight years or depending on their agility, they are handed over to an NGO. “Sharing space with them everyday gets us attached to them like a family member. Whenever one of our dogs retires and is sent to an NGO for further care, its handler keeps paying the dog a monthly visit out of concern,” Sagar said.

“Whenever a dog dies, the handlers have to ensure that they are given a respectful cremation just like a police officer… we are always present during their last journey,” he said.