Paris Olympics 2024: Meet India's elite K9 units providing security in France
India's elite dog squad, K9 teams from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is set to provide security at the various venues of the upcoming Paris Olympics that are starting from July 26. A total of 10 K9 teams will be at work to provide security.
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FollowThe Paris Olympic 2024 in France will have 10 Indian K9 (canine) teams – central armed police force (CAPFs) and special commando force dogs – providing extra security. The five-year-old CRPF dog Vast and the three-year-old Denby are part of the special force of security dogs that will be providing anti-terrorist and anti-sabotage protection cover to various Olympic sites in Paris. The 2024 Summer Olympic Games kick off on July 26. The duties of the Indian K9 teams include undertaking sniffing and patrolling duties at various venues that will host sporting events during the Olympics.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force, National Security Guard (NSG), and the Assam Rifles are among the CAPFs from whom the ten canines and their handlers were selected.
The squad, which was made up of Belgian Malinois breed canines, had ten weeks of training before leaving for Paris with the Indian officers and dogs. For this first-ever canine squad partnership between the Indian and French governments, they have received specialised 10-week training, a security officer informed PTI. "The dogs are of the robust Belgian Malinois breed, and they are used for anti-terrorist and anti-Naxal operations, as well as infantry patrol and anti-sabotage sniffer duties to find bombs, IEDs, and troublemakers in various internal security theatres across the nation," the spokesperson stated.
“The Belgian Malinois breed is considered to be the most preferred combat dogs by security forces across the globe,” he said.
To ensure a secure and efficient hosting of the Olympics, France has implemented strict security protocols. There will be about 10,500 competitors competing in the 2024 Games in Paris. A report claims that 30,000 police officers will be on duty every day for the Olympics, which run until August 11th. Fourteen thousand police officers are scheduled to be deployed for the 26 July opening ceremony on the Seine River.
