Mangaluru: Last rites of Police dog, Geetha, held with full state honours

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Sep 05, 2022: The 11-year-old canine Geeta, the senior member of the Mangaluru City Police dog squad, received an emotional farewell from the city police personnel following its death on Saturday, September 3.

 

 

 

 

 

Geeta, a Labrador Retriever, was part of the four-member city’s police dog squad. Since last 10 days, she was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. She succumbed on Saturday.

The city police personnel including Deputy Commissioners of Police B.P. Dinesh Kumar and Channaveerappa Hadapad laid the wreath. Three rounds of bullets were fired in air as ceremonial salute was given to Geeta. She was then buried at a corner of the City Armed Reserve grounds.
Emotional

Armed Head Constable S. Harish, Geeta’s handler, turned emotional while laying the wreath. “It’s hard to loose Geeta who was under my care since she joined the squad in June 2011.” Geeta joined the squad along with crime detective dog Sudha, who passed away in April 2021.

Mr. Harish said that for over a decade Geeta served as the sole sniffer dog for detecting explosives. “She has been an obedient member of the squad and handled over 800 cases of detecting explosives in Dakshina Kannada and other parts of the state. She won Western Range Level award twice,” he said. She was deployed during hoax bomb threats and also during visits of VVIPs, he said.

With the death of Geeta, the city police dog squad is left with three dogs of which two are for crime detection and one for explosive detection. One dog is undergoing training in Bengaluru City Armed Reserve (South). “We are seeking permission to fill the post vacated by Geeta,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police (City Armed Reserve) Murugeppa Upase.