Mumbai Police's canine squad Doberman, who found missing kid, gets salute from top cop

Dog squad member, Leo, used the child’s T-shirt to identify his scent and covered an area extending up to a 500-metre radius to track him down

Leo, Mumbai police’s six-and-a-half-year-old canine sleuth, has earned recognition from Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Satya Narayan Chaudhary for helping the Powai police locate a missing child within an hour and a half. Leo is a Doberman, a German breed, and has been crucial in solving police cases ranging from murder, kidnapping, missing persons and housebreaking.

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Chaudhary saluted Leo and appreciated his handler, Constable Bhau Saheb Shinde, for the detection. At the end of the year, Leo would be given a certificate for his achievement.

Leo joined the Mumbai Crime Branch’s dog squad at just 1.5 months old and underwent six months of intensive training at a centre in Pune. Police Inspector (PI) Jhon Gaikwad of the dog squad team commended Leo’s active involvement in various cases involving tracking and highlighted his effectiveness in solving murder and housebreaking cases.

In the recent case, Leo helped Powai police track a missing six-year-old child within 1.5 hours. He used the scent from the child’s T-shirt to guide him, covered an area extending to a 500-metre radius and led to the child’s safe return to their parents.

Other achievements

Leo’s notable achievements include assisting the RA Marg police in identifying a murder suspect from a lineup of 10 individuals and tracking down a housebreaking accused who had fled with R17 lakh cash from a house in DB Marg police’s jurisdiction.

He also helped in a murder case at Worli police station and a missing person case in south Mumbai. So far, six of the cases he has helped Mumbai police with have seen positive results.

Mumbai police’s dog squad, currently comprising five tracking dogs, including a narcotics tracking dog, has been instrumental in solving cases of missing persons, kidnappings, murders, and housebreaking. PI Gaikwad said there are plans to acquire three more tracking dogs by the year’s end, which would bring the number of total dogs in the squad to eight.

6.5
Leo’s age (in years)

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