Guj cops in saddle with biggest mounted force

  • | Sunday | 15th July, 2018

"I believe that Gujarat has perhaps the largest equestrian force with a single state police not only in India but perhaps in the world. AHMEDABAD: Maybe it is love and compassion for animals which is getting reflected in the state police as Gujarat has India's largest equestrian force with over 600 horses. Police horses are mostly relegated to ceremonial uses or training senior police officers as vehicles have almost completely taken over patrolling. “The state police have a good number of pure breed horses. "A few other states also impart training to the civilians with police horses but nowhere we see such large number of locals flocking to the training schools as we see in Gujarat - almost all the district units have one horse-riding school.

AHMEDABAD: Maybe it is love and compassion for animals which is getting reflected in the state police as Gujarat has India's largest equestrian force with over 600 horses. State gallops ahead of even the Border Security Force (BSF), which has a pan-India presence with 400 trained horses followed by Uttar Pradesh (330).S Krishnamurthy, a former IPS officer who retired as DGP of Karnataka , has compiled these and more details in his book 'History and Future of Mounted Police in India' published by Raksha Shakti University (RSU). The book was recently released in state capital.Krishnamurthy, a multiple award-winning rider, has been regularly judging the All India Police Equestrian Meet (AIPEM), a high-profile event which sees participation of police and paramilitary forces from across India.Cops mounted on horsebacks are slowly vanishing from the country - Odisha and all seven North-eastern states don't have equestrian force at all - and the world. Police horses are mostly relegated to ceremonial uses or training senior police officers as vehicles have almost completely taken over patrolling. "I believe that Gujarat has perhaps the largest equestrian force with a single state police not only in India but perhaps in the world. The state has a long history of maintaining equestrian forces since the time of princely states, a legacy which is carried forward by police as well," Krishnamurthy told TOI.He added that what sets Gujarat apart is the novel use of animals as a tool of people connect. "A few other states also impart training to the civilians with police horses but nowhere we see such large number of locals flocking to the training schools as we see in Gujarat - almost all the district units have one horse-riding school. I was surprised to a number of women including housewives riding police horses in Rajkot," he said.Vikas Sahay, director-general of RSU, said that the book also mentions use of horses for purposes such as crop patrolling in Gujarat in rural areas which is not as prevalent in other parts of the country. “Idea of the book was born during AIPEM hosted by Gujarat in 2013 when the then CM Narendra Modi had suggested documenting the past and present of the mounted police," he said.RD Jhala, former IPS officer and eminent equine expert, says the state’s mounted police plays a key role in preserving Kathiawadi and Marwari horse breeds. “The state police have a good number of pure breed horses. We see resurgence of horse riding as adventure sport and as fitness exercise due to which mounted police have shared a good people connect,” he said.Krishnamurthy said that he has proposed uniform national policy for the animals used by the police forces.

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