In 1976 I was at Srinagar. We had few vehicles parked in wooden sheds. One night, I got a call that the vehicle garage had caught fire. We quickly collected a few personnel and extinguished the fire. I suspected that the cause of fire was not an accident. I found that the drain plug of the petrol tank lying on the ground and also found a burnt match stick nearby. I felt there was something fishy. I decided to get the help of sniffer dogs.
The dog was taken under the burnt vehicle and made to smell the drain plug and the piece of ground where petroleum had been spilled. The dog ran towards a nearby building after approaching the building and started climbing the stairs. The dog jumped on the bed and caught hold of a sheet of which a part was burnt. We suspected the soldier who slept on that bed.
We collected all the men of the unit and made them stand in one line for sniffer dog to identify the culprit. The dog crossed the entire line and then it reached this soldier it lifted its two legs and caught hold of the soldier!!!
These dogs were our best friends and saviours too. The problems are not always on the other side of the border. They are within too.
Served the country for: 33 years