Police sniffer dog runs 12kms to catch absconding murder suspect

In the south Indian state of Karnataka, a police dog named Tunga was felicitated for the active role it played in capturing a murder suspect. The suspect, known locally as Chetan, had fled after allegedly committing theft and murder. Karnataka Police were unable to find the absconding man for several days. Tunga was called in to help with the search and managed to travel nearly 12 kilometres to find the accused hiding in another village.

Chetan and some of his accomplices had reportedly robbed a home in Dharwad district, Karnataka. Having stolen gold jewellery and a gun, Chetan was worried that his friend Chandra Nayak would report him to the police. Chetan met with Nayak and eventually shot him using the stolen weapon. After fatally wounding his acquaintance, Chetan ran away and tried to evade capture.

Both Chetan and Nayak belonged to Kashipur Tanda near Soolekere in Davanagere district, over 250 kilometres from the state capital of Bangalore. Local police began their hunt for Chetan but were unable to locate him in his village.

They finally resorted to calling in the canine sniffer unit to help with the search. According to The Times of India, the nine-year-old female Doberman pinscher joined the investigation along with her handler K M Prakash. Tunga has a legendary record of helping solve around 60 cases, of which 30 are murder investigations.

Reports claim that Tunga was brought to the crime scene where it was allowed to sniff clothing belonging to the victim. It picked up the scent of the suspect from the clothing and at around 9:30 pm local time, the dog set off on its search. Followed by its handler and the investigating team, Tunga ran for almost 12 kilometres.

At around 12:30 am local time, Tunga reached the village where Chetan was hiding. It went to a liquor shop, then a food stall, before finally stopping at a house.

Police questioned the residents of the home revealing the whereabouts of Chetan. Chetan was arrested and he confessed to the robbery and murder.

Tunga's 43-year-old proud handler said that the dog was extremely skilled. He pointed out that in his career he had not worked with a dog with sharp senses like Tunga. The longest any sniffer dog tracked an accused in Karnataka was eight kilometres.

The Karnataka Police felicitated the heroic dog on Friday, July 17 for her active role in the investigation.