Police, Army mark Kukur Tihar by worshipping dogs

Kathmandu: Dog worship was performed at the Police Canine Office on the second day of Yamapanchak, the five-day festival of Tihar.

On the occasion of Kukur Tihar, a programme was organised today at the Police Canine Office in Maharajgunj to worship the dogs. Kukur Tihar is dedicated to the ‘kukur’ or the dog. Dog, which is an animal well known for being the trustworthy sentry as well as faithful companion of humans since ancient times, is worshipped once a year on this day. People worship the dog, garland it and offer delicious food today.

Deputy Inspector General Om Bahadur Rana of the Nepal Police Headquarters’ Crime Investigation Department worshipped various breeds of dogs in the office.

On the occasion, he said that dogs play an important role in maintaining peace, security, and in crime investigation and search operations. He highly praised the role played by trained dogs in crime investigation and rescue. DIGP Rana informed that it was easier to locate the bodies of 24 people who went missing in the flood in Bhotekoshi, Rasuwa on August 26, with the help of sniffer dogs. He said that since its establishment, the canine office has achieved great success in crime investigation.

At the programme, Dr Ramchandra Satyal, Chief Technical Police Superintendent of the Canine Office, shared that the Canine Office, established in 2026 BS, is currently providing services from 14 locations across the country.

According to him, there are currently 107 dogs at canine centres nationwide. Army dog show organized at Nepali Army’s Bhairav Bahan Company A military dog skill show was organised at Shri Bhairav Bahan Company in Sanothimi, Bhaktapur on the occasion of the Kukur Tihar festival today.

Trained dogs performed various ‘military dog skill shows’ and cultural performances on the occasion. At the programme, dogs showcased various skills like racing competitions, mock searches for missing people, monitoring and identifying suspicious items, tracking criminals by scent, high jumps, and many more skills.

All the dogs in the Company were collectively worshipped today, marking the Kukur Tihar festival. At the programme, Nepali Army Major General Harendra Pathak said that dogs are considered loyal and honest animals and are worshipped as the vehicle of Bhairab, a Hindu deity.

He mentioned that since dogs have an acute sense of smell a hundred thousand times better than humans, trained dogs here are used in crime investigation and in finding out bombs and explosives.

At the event, Mayor of Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, Surendra Shrestha, deputy mayor Bijay Shrestha, ward chairpersons, and the chiefs of various Companies of the Nepal Army observed the military dog skill show.

RSS