Jorhat (Assam), February 12 – In line with the central government's push for self-reliance, the Assam Rifles is planning to incorporate indigenous dog breeds into its squad for various operations, a senior official said on Thursday.
As part of "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India), the oldest paramilitary force has already included the Tangkhul Hui breed in its dog squad as a pilot project and is looking to introduce the Kombai breed from April, Lt Col Alok Palei, Commanding Officer of the Assam Rifles Dog Training Centre (ARDTC), told
"The Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) has always advocated for "Atmanirbhar Bharat" in every field. He also wanted to have more Indian dog breeds in the dog squads of all forces. Since then, we have been working on identifying indigenous breeds for our purposes," he added.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs also issued a directive in this regard last year, following which the Assam Rifles started looking for more local breeds for induction into the force, Palei said.
"Currently, we have four breeds – Labrador, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, and Tangkhul Hui. Out of these, we inducted six Tangkhul Hui dogs in 2022 as a pilot project. They are highly resistant to diseases and all of them are being trained for narcotics detection," he added.
The Tangkhul Hui is found in the Ukhrul district of Manipur, and it is a domestic breed primarily used for hunting, the official said.
Talking about the Kombai breed, Palei said it is found in Tamil Nadu, and this type of dog is being inducted into all central armed police forces after the call for an indigenous breed.
"We are in the process of identifying the parent stock. The first three years will be for breeding. There are different stages, starting from identifying the breed to final induction. As the first step, we will induct two male and eight female Kombai dogs in April," he added.
Palei said that the Tangkhul Hui and Kombai breeds are likely to be fully inducted into the Assam Rifles' dog squad by March 2027.
"This centre is the only facility of the Assam Rifles. The Kombai dogs will also be trained in this centre," he said.
The Assam Rifles has a total strength of 344 dogs, but currently has 253 dogs. These are stationed in different battalions across the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir, the Lt Col said.
He said that the Assam Rifles currently has over 1,200 dog-trained handlers, while 9-10 people are required for the care and maintenance of each dog.
The Assam Rifles Dog Training Centre in Jorhat district has 104 dogs and 174 handlers, which are in different stages of training, Palei said.
When asked about any successful large operation that involved its dog squad, he said, without sharing details, that a large cache of narcotics substances, transported from Myanmar, was seized in September 2025 in a Northeastern state due to its canine unit.
On the training aspect, Palei said the centre is conducting three courses for its personnel and two courses for the dogs.
The three courses for personnel are the basic dog handler course (23 weeks), dog first aid course (four weeks), and a refresher course (two weeks). For dogs, there is a basic obedience course (12 weeks) and a refresher course (two weeks).
The officer said that there are also three specialized courses – tracking, explosive detection, and narcotics detection. Each course is of 36 weeks' duration.
"Currently, we have the 42nd batch of our basic dog handling course. After this, the best of the handlers are selected for a master trainer course at the CRPF Dog Breeding & Training School in Bengaluru, and it is 24 weeks long. Also, we send our people to the Remount Veterinary Corps Centre (RVC) in Meerut for a six-month course," he added.
Palei said that after passing out from these two centres, the personnel are deployed at ARDTC as instructors.
Asked if the field of operation for the dogs will be expanded in the coming period, the officer said, "Yes, we are looking into it. We have been tasked to train for dual purpose, which is assault with tracker and assault with explosive detection."
There is a possibility of inducting search and rescue dogs in the future for using them in natural calamities, he added.
Palei said Sreelakshmi PV is the first woman dog handler of Assam Rifles who joined this specialized division in April 2025 to undergo a six-month course.
"It was a very good feeling to be the first woman dog handler of the Assam Rifles. I love dogs and am really happy to be in this wing. After me, eight more women have come and their training is going on," Sreelakshmi told PTI.
She said that she has trained one dog so far and it has gone to one battalion as a tracker dog.
"Currently, I am undergoing the dog first aid course... I am from Kerala and initially I was posted in general unit of Assam Rifles," Sreelakshmi said, adding her family is very happy and proud of her.
She said that her colleagues have encouraged her a lot to join the dog unit.