NEW DELHI: After losing two of its highly-trained canines, famed as the ‘Osama hunters’, to Naxal- triggered IED blasts in a week, an alarmed CRPF has asked field units to “study” reasons that led to these losses and undertake tactical steps to thwart Maoist attempts to target the four-legged soldiers.
Two incidents on January 18 in Jharkhand’s Latehar and on Tuesday in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur, claimed the lives of ‘Aminika’ and ‘Pluto’, two of the battle-hardened ‘Belgian Malinois’ infantry patrol canines of the paramilitary force. Both the dogs were out with Central Reserve Police Force patrol parties in the Naxal stronghold when Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts claimed their lives.
The ‘Belgian Malinois’ breed was inducted in the security forces a few years back based on their track record of sniffing out hidden bombs and danger in enemy territory. These canines first shot to international fame after they assisted the US Navy SEALs in sniffing out Osama bin Laden from his safe haven in Pakistan in 2011 and were since then famously called the ‘Osama hunters’.
“It is a loss for the force as these four-legged soldiers have saved numerous lives. We are looking at what caused the incidents and I have asked field units to study the blasts,” said CRPF DG K Durga Prasad.