Mallet, a specially trained sniffer dog in the bomb detection and disposal squad of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), saved many lives on Monday after he detected an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by suspected Maoists in a forested area of Jobhi Khutwar in Jharkhand.
A senior CRPF officer said that on receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of an explosive device in Jobhi Khutwar, a search operation was launched.
Mallet, who is a part of the K9 units of the CRPF, assists its patrolling teams. The K9 unit stands out for its ability to detect an ambush or explosives. The dogs have been specially trained for operation in Naxal-infested areas and often prove useful for personnel operating in these areas.
In a statement, the CRPF informed that based on intelligence input, the 22 Battalion of the CRPF and state police on Monday launched a joint search operation in a forested area of the Jobhi Khutwar axis, within the Ango police station limits in Hazaribagh district.
According to the statement, as the troops accompanied by the sniffer dog (Mallet) were scouring the area, the specially trained K9 indicated the presence of explosives. Following Mallet’s lead, which pointed towards thick bushes near a beaten track, the troops recovered an IED planted in a steel container weighing about 20 kg.