Mumbai: Cops hunt for drug-busting dog who is missing since March

Veera has been missing since March 2. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

For over a month now, the Mumbai police have been helping the Government Railway Police (GRP) look for their top dog - a two-year-old German Shepherd named Veera. The dog, who is an expert at detecting narcotics, has not been seen since March 2, when he got separated from his handler while they were out on a walk near Ghatkopar railway station.

Veera was trained for nine months in Madhya Pradesh and is an expert at sniffing out narcotics like charas and marijuana. Speaking about how one of the squad's most important members went missing on March 2, an officer said, "In the afternoon, a constable took Veera to the ground. He removed Veera's leash so he could run freely in the ground. After a while, the constable lost track of him. Despite calling him several times, the constable failed to receive any response. He then informed his department, after which a complaint was registered." Veera was supposedly chasing away stray dogs before he went missing.

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Veera is an expert at sniffing out narcotics like charas and marijuana

The GRP then filed a complaint regarding his disappearance at the Pant Nagar police station, who have been looking for him since. Rohini Kale, senior inspector at Pant Nagar confirmed the complaint. Another officer said, "We scanned a lot of CCTV footage from the area and in one, he was seen walking but later, he couldn't be spotted anywhere." At one point, they thought they'd found him. An officer said, "We found a dog who looks like Veera, but when GRP checked him, they said he was not the one."

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Cops have also posted his picture on social media but haven't mentioned what he does to avoid controversy. They welcome any information anyone has on him. As for his handler, senior GRP officials said his disappearance is a failure of the staff in whose presence he ran away. A departmental inquiry has been initiated into the incident under Avinash Kavthekar, senior inspector, Churchgate GRP.

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