Mumbai: Police dog Leo's service taken to track six-year-old boy

MUMBAI: A six-year-old boy was successfully rescued within three-and-a-half hours after his parents sought help from the Powai police late Thursday night.


The child, Vivek Kori, was abducted around 8 pm while playing near his hutment in the Ashok Nagar slum in Andheri (East). Concerned when he didn't return for dinner, his parents and older sister initiated a search. Due to the absence of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the slum area, the police enlisted the help of the Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad (BDDS) and their sniffer dog.

The BDDS's canine led the police to the boy, who was found frightened and unable to communicate effectively. The kidnapper, noticing the presence of sniffer dogs and the barking of stray dogs, left the child approximately 500 meters from his home in an open ground in the neighborhood.

Responding promptly, DCP (Zone X) Datta Nalawade formed multiple teams, including ACP Bharat Suryavanshi, inspector Supriya Patil, inspector Vijay Dalvi, assistant inspector Vinod Lad, sub-inspector Nitin Gaikwad, and support staff. The teams were assigned tasks ranging from filing an FIR to staying with the boy's sister and actively searching for the missing child.

The child was reunited with his parents and sister around 4 am on Friday. The police officer emphasized the collaborative efforts of the teams and the crucial role played by Leo, a Doberman, in tracking down the child based on the scent of his T-shirt. Despite facing challenges from local stray dogs, Leo managed to locate the boy within 90 minutes. The child, who had a speech impediment, could only convey that he was taken away by an "uncle." The police had initiated the search after the boy's mother, who works as a housekeeping staff, approached them around 12:30 am on Friday to report her son missing.