Gandhinagar/Nagpur, April 10 (IANS) A Gujarat Police sniffer dog has won a national gold medal after a gap of 16 years, emerging as the top performer in the tracking category at the 69th All India Police Duty Meet (AIPDM) held in Nagpur in Maharashtra, officials said on Friday.

‘Check’, a male dog from the Gujarat Police, secured the gold medal in tracking and also won a bronze medal in the overall tracking category at the 2025–26 championship held during March and April 2026.

The national-level event saw participation from police K9 squads, forensic experts and personnel from across the country, with competitions assessing capabilities such as explosive and narcotics detection, tracking, agility and obedience.

In the tracking category, 45 dogs from various state police forces and paramilitary units competed, with ‘Check’ finishing first.

Overall, more than 200 dogs took part in different categories at the meet.

Gujarat Police fielded six dogs across three categories — tracking, explosive detection and narcotics detection — with two entries in each.

State Director General of Police (DGP), Dr K.L.N. Rao, met ‘Check’ and his handler Ramesh Khant and police dog training consultant Colonel Chandan Singh Rathod at the Police Bhavan in Gandhinagar and congratulated them on the achievement, honouring the dog and handler with a medal.

“Gujarat Police’s ‘Check’ dog won a gold medal in the tracking category and also secured a bronze medal in the overall tracking category. We have worked very hard to achieve this,” Rathod said.

Officials said preparations for the national competition began well in advance.

A state-level police dog competition was organised a few months earlier under the guidance and direction of Director General of Police (Training), Neerja Gotru.

Nine dogs were selected for the national championship, of which six participated in various events after undergoing specialised training, strict training schedules and proper care.

Gujarat Police currently has around 160 trained dogs deployed across districts for tasks including explosive detection, narcotics detection, tracking in criminal investigations and liquor detection.

The latest result marks the first gold medal for a Gujarat Police dog at the national Police Duty Meet in 16 years.

–IANS

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