Mumbai police’s retired sniffer dog, Caesar, who was a part of the part of the 26/11 operations, breathed his last on Thursday.
Mumbai police’s retired sniffer dog, Caesar, who was a part of the part of the 26/11 operations, breathed his last on Thursday. Caesar, a Labrador Retriever, had been depressed following the death of four of his long-time canine friends from the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS). Besides Caesar, three other sniffer dogs who were part of the 26/11 operations were Max, Sultan and Tiger. They retired from the BDDS in November 2015. While Max, Sultan and Tiger passed away; Caesar was the only one alive.
he Mumbai police purchased Caeser in 2004 from Panvel when he was three months old. He was put through nine months of training required for police sniffer dogs. In 2005, Caesar got commissioned in the BDDS and served there till November 2013. Following his retirement, Caesar was sent to a shelter home in Virar.
Caesar was on duty at the Taj Hotel in Colaba during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. According to police records, during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Caesar had traced hand grenades from platform number 13 of CST railway station. Also, during the 2006 Mumbai train blasts, Caesar had tracked bombs. He again proved to be the hero and helper of Mumbai police during the chain blast in 2011 by detecting a bomb in Dadar area before it could explode.
Following the death of Sultan, Tiger went into depression. Later, when Max died, other dogs were seen lingering around his grave. Ceasar began keeping unwell after Tiger’s demise. He often used to remain upset, which affected his health. Max, Tiger and Sultan died within a span of four months. In July this year, Caesar was admitted in the hospital due to severe depression.
Following Caesar’s death, Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar took to Twitter to express his condolences.
