Bareilly: Tiger was one of the best Uttar Pradesh police force ever had. Having cracked 150 cases single-handedly in his career spanning 14 years, he rose to the rank of deputy superintendent of police, the highest any police dog could have. A sniffer Labrador with 20 nails on his claws – a rarity according to his caretaker, he would just dash to the crime spot and dig out bodies or other crucial evidence in open fields, jungles or even water bodies. There was nothing he had not done.

So, when Tiger breathed his last on January 17, the police force decided to give him his due. Wrapped in the national flag, Tiger was buried with the traditional guard of honour as his colleagues as well as admirers paid their last tributes. The director general of police’s office called up Muzaffarnagar SSP, enquired about Tiger’s last rites and asked for his pictures to be sent to Lucknow.

“The guard of honour at Tiger’s funeral was our way to show respect to the departed soul and recognise his contribution,” UP DGP’s public relations officer Rahul Srivastava told TOI.

His handler Satish Chandra said Tiger was brought from Hyderabad-based Canine Club of India (CCI), a government recognised agency that supplies pups to state police as well as paramilitary forces across the country. “He was 11-month-old when we received Tiger from CCI on June 26, 2003,” Chandra said.

Before joining police force, Tiger had completed a 36-week rigorous training, which included tracking, explosive detection, narcotics detection, search and rescue and guard training, at the Border Security Force’s prestigious National Training Centre for Dogs in Madhya Pradesh’s Tekanpur.

For over a decade police forces of at least two crime-prone districts – Shamli and Muzaffarnagar – completely depended on Tiger. Besides, his services were often requisitioned by forces of other districts too.

His colleagues cannot stop gushing about his various exploits.

In 2015, criminals had buried the body of a child in the depths of a mini-canal, which was impossible to trace. The crime scene was at least 500 metres from the spot where the body was buried. When the water flow was stopped, Tiger darted to the spot and unearthed the body.

In another blind case, unidentified men had killed a woman and dumped her body in a jungle in Jansath area of Muzaffarnagar. Tiger walked three kilometres inside the jungle and stopped at a spot. Phone surveillance later revealed criminals had used the same track and halted at the spot to make some calls. They were arrested.

Muzaffarnagar circle officer Manilal Patidar said, “Tiger’s demise is an irreparable loss to us. He was a police officer like us. The department will never forget its brave soldier for his services to the nation.”

According to his handler, Tiger lived for 14 years, two years longer than the normal span for Labradors. “He died peacefully,” Chandra added.