Raven Sniffs Killer’s Trail, Cops Solve Murder In 2 Hrs

Nagpur: Raven, the German Shepherd sniffer dog of Nagpur City police, played a key role in helping cops solve the Lashkaribagh murder case. Indubai Chavan, 68, was found murdered at her residence last week.Within minutes of being brought to the crime scene, Raven picked up scent clues and headed straight to the house of the key accused, Raj Bagde. Raven started circling in front of the house, giving enough clues to his handler, head constable Kamlesh Hinge.Raven, trained under the Indo-Tibetan Border Police in Haryana for 9 months, was called in by Panchpaoli police after Chavan's body was found in her Lashkaribagh residence last week. Her husband, Kishor, found her lying in a pool of blood on Friday morning, two days after the crime. She was likely killed after Wednesday midnight.Investigators recovered a portion of a knife cover near the body and let Raven sniff it. The highly trained German Shepherd quickly picked up the trail. He led officers upstairs to the terrace, where cops found bloodstains, establishing that the killer went up to wash himself after the crime.Following the scent further, Raven traced the path down the staircase straight to a house located behind the victim's first-floor apartment. Raven's precise tracking helped cops narrow down the suspect list. The accused allegedly stole Indu's ATM card earlier. When she confronted him, he stabbed her to death in a fit of rage on Wednesday night. Bagde was later arrested from Kalmeshwar. Within an hour, the police rounded up Raj Bagde, a close relative of the deceased, and interrogated him. Raj spilled the beans during interrogation as the case was solved within two hours. "The dog stayed focused and delivered results braving the blazing sun," said his handler Hinge, who works under sub inspector Dashrath Thakur. Police officials praised Raven's sharp senses and training. They noted such sniffer dogs undergo rigorous training to perform in challenging conditions, and Raven again proved why he is considered one of the best in the force.