India hands over 30 military trained mules to Bangladesh Army
NEWS DESK
In a display of effective defence cooperation, Bangladesh Army has received 30 fully trained and ready for deployment military mules from India, The Hindu Business Line reports.
The mules, handed over at the India-Bangladesh border, were trained at the Remount Training School and Depots (RTSD) in Saharanpur of Western Uttar Pradesh.
Army officials stated they have given mules, horses, and dogs to their friendly neighbour Bangladesh in the past too and trained their men on how to handle these animals who are a crucial part of their assets in discharging critical functions.
Sometime in 2020, the Indian Army handed over 20 fully trained military horses and ten mine detection dogs to their Bangladesh counterpart which signifies growing bilateral defence ties with Dhaka.
RTSD receive horse and mule young stock from equine breeding studs in the country and abroad and train them. It was established in 1843 as a stud depot to improve stock for British Army, train horses as troopers and specialist horses on a required basis.
They supply trained horses to all animal holding units and for the President Body Guard (PBG), and also sell them to police, para-military forces, and other countries.
GIFTING ANIMALS
India has been gifting animals to foreign nations.
Earlier, the Royal Cambodia Armed Forces (RCAF) has been accepting explosive detection dogs from the Indian Army, said officials in the defence establishment.
Fifteen dogs were gifted in 2016 and four dogs were air transported through a civilian flight from New Delhi to Phnom Penh along with the RCAF personnel on October 24, 2022, for induction into RCAF, said Army officials.
This was done with budgetary support from the Indian External Affairs Ministry, said Army officials. Prior to that, RCAF personnel was given four weeks of training from September 26 to October 23, 2022, at the Army’s RVC Centre, Meerut.
