Indian CAPF, special forces canine squad in France for Olympics venue security
New Delhi (PTI): Ten specially-trained Indian CAPF and special commando force dogs are in France to provide a counter-terrorist and anti-sabotage security cover to various venues of the Paris Olympics slated to open next week, official sources said on Wednesday.
The ten Indian K9 (canine) teams will undertake sniffing and patrolling duties at various venues that will hold events for the Paris Olympics. They have been given a special 10-week training for this first-ever kind of collaboration of canine squads between the Indian and the French government, a security officer told PTI.
The teams along with their handlers are drawn from the central armed police forces (CAPFs) like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force apart from the federal contingency commando force National Security Guard (NSG) and the Assam Rifles.
The dogs are from the ferocious-looking Belgian Malinois breed which undertake infantry patrol and anti-sabotage sniffer tasks to detect bombs, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and trouble makers in various internal security theatres of the country like anti-Naxal operations and counter-terrorist operations, he said.
A second officer said the handlers of these ten canine teams have undertaken refresher physical training apart from a special capsule of basics of the French language for the Olympics task.
The squad includes five-year-old CRPF canine Vast and three-year-old Denby.
They have been chosen for this task after stringent tests conducted at the CRPF dog breeding and training school located on Taralu near Bengaluru, Karnataka, the second officer said.
"The Belgian Malinois breed is considered to be the most preferred combat dog by security forces across the globe," he said.
The Malinois, a litter of an Israeli male Malinois crossed with an American bitch, shot to fame when it was reported that the dogs assisted US special forces in sniffing out Osama Bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad in Pakistan in 2011.
The dog, which has a heavy snout and a big head, can detect suspicious human presence and IEDs with precision and it is intelligent enough to communicate these signals through a nod of its head and not by barking which could lead to alerting of the target.
The Indian dog teams will be deployed as per the requirements of the French Police and security agencies and this deployment is part of the security cooperation between the two countries, the first officer said.
The handlers are donning their regular combat uniform with a special patch of the Indian flag on their chest and another on the shoulder provided to the security agencies deployed for the mega games event, he said.
According to international media reports, France is deploying around 30,000 police officers each day for the Olympics, which will be held between July 26 and August 11, with a peak of 45,000 for the opening ceremony on the Seine river.
About 18,000 members of the military are also helping ensure security, including thousands housed in a huge, special camp erected on the edge of Paris, the reports said.
India will be represented by 117 athletes at the Olympics apart from 140 support staff and officials.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
