The schoolchildren were visibly thrilled to lay hands on some of the sophisticated firearms and were equally amazed to find the police dogs displaying their prowess in various acts.
The Police Commemoration Day, observed every year on October 21, is an occasion for society to pay respects to the cops who fought valorous battles for the sake of the public and also sacrificed their lives. The Open House conducted on the occasion by the Tirupati Urban police district at the Armed Reserve Parade Grounds on Wednesday focussed mainly on display of firearms and imparting basic security knowledge to the children.
The Police Department made elaborate arrangements to mobilise nearly 1,000 children from various State-run institutions such as the schools run by the Zilla Parishad and the Municipal Corporation. “Such kids do not generally get a chance to attend such events, nor do they get to witness the latest entrants in our security arsenal,” said Superintendent of Police R. Jayalakshmi, who inaugurated the event.
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Similarly, the painstaking efforts of the dog squad in restoring normalcy, especially in deleterious situations like bomb scare, threat to public order and major heist attempts were also on display.
The students cheered when the dogs jumped through a ring of fire and over an array of hurdles. The typical “canine intellect” was in for praise when a dog sniffed its way to find a pack of narcotics stealthily carried by a plain-clothed cop, even as another zeroed in exactly on an ‘explosive’ hidden in one of the many bags strewn over the floor. A bomb squad member in his protective attire also attracted the attention of students, when he remotely defused a detonator.
Ms. Jayalakshmi explained that such events would help the children understand the efforts taken by their friendly neighbourhood policeman to guard them, besides inspiring them to become one in future.
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