On 31 October 2019, unlike the domes of Bangla Sahib Gurdwara, a 17-storey glass-end-concrete tower over Jai Singh Road in Central Delhi rose a bright 17-storey glass-concrete tower. This was more than just one more office block in the capital’s horizon. For the first time, Delhi Police had its own house.
Building 286 crore in 8 acres, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the birth anniversary. It integrated under a roof, the Offices of the Police Commissioner’s offices and all the major units, the operations, residences, an auditorium and even space for a media lounge. For a force that spent 71 years borrowing instead of borrowing, it was a long -awaited step.
Earlier, the city police worked in the ITO for more than four decades from the MSO building of the Public Affairs Department, where its headquarters were scattered in 11 rented floors. And before that, Delhi Police cycled through three addresses at Kashmiri Gate. Each building reflected a moment in the history of the capital, from the uncertainty of partition to the unrest of the 1970s.
Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police Rajendar, who helped establish the force museums at Kingsway Camp and Chanakyapuri, recalled the discovery of these lost address only in 2008 during the preparation of the police archives. He said, “Many people did not know that Delhi Police not only operated two, but four buildings before going on Jai Singh Road,” he said. Retired IPS officer PA Rosha directed him through forgotten compounds of the Kashmiri gate, pointing to the structures that once kept the police force of the city.
The story of the Delhi Police Headquarters, then, is not only about the office shift. It is also about the changing geography of the city, and it enhances and developed the method of policing along with Delhi.
Five headquarters of Delhi Police mirror the story of Delhi: from the arrival of partition to postcolonial expansion, from colonial compounds of Kashmiri gate to the vertical towers of the ITO, and finally from a magnificent address in the power corridor.
Each address is still standing. Some are ignored, their roof is patched with fiber sheet. Others have been rebuilt in universities or academies. Together, they create a hidden heritage trail of Delhi policing.
Address #1: Old Court Compound, Kashmiri Gate
In 1947, such as -as partition rebuilt the subcontinent, Delhi absorbed a huge inflation of refugees and saw a sharp spike in crime. Till the police, a unit of Punjab Police, headquartered in Ambala, was reorganized. On February 16, 1948, DW Mehra became the first Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Delhi-in charge of the unlikely small force, with strength to about 8,000 from 1,951.
His office was located in the first floor of a minor two-storey British-era structure at Kashmiri Gate-today known as “Old Court Compound”. Built with lime mortar, stone and heavy wood, the building had long verandahs and iron -race stairs.
Now to find it, one must walk 300 meters from a crowded lane by 300 meters from Ritz Cinema. The small mosques are adjacent to the compound; Kashmiri Gate is audible from ISBT’s stir building. Inside, the structure is worn and patched. There are eight rooms in the ground floor, sealing with several rusty iron gates; Other people serve as a record room for land documents. On the first floor, where the top brass of Delhi Police met once, the offices of sub-registrar, Tehsildar and Nehru Yuva Kendra today.
“I know it is a legacy building. But I didn’t even know that it was the first headquarters of Delhi Police. The structure is weakening, especially its roof that leaked during the rain. During about five years, our office roof collapsed. A fiber sheet had collapsed. To ensure that to ensure broken goods from the roof.
While the authorities have been unable to detect any documents that explains why the headquarters were shifted out of the building, officials said that they believe that by 1952, four years after going inside the Delhi Police, the force had already pushed it forward.
Delhi’s population was growing, and tight quarters proved to be inadequate.
Address #2: Dara Shikoh’s Library Compound
The next address was inside the premises of Dara Shikoh’s library near today’s General Post Office at Kashmiri Gate. Here, a long line of single-storey rooms put the police leadership of the city.
The library building has a layered history: originally a Mughal Nobel mansion, it later became the residence of the first British resident David Ocheroni in the court of Shah Alam. For decades, it turned into a college, a district school and an archaeological office. By the 1950s, the campus consisted of offices that adjusted the expansion administration of the Delhi Police.
Today, the same room Dr. BR Ambedkar works as the administrative block of the University. The Vice Chancellor and Registrar sit where the IGP once did. From the gate of Lothian Marg-Bale Ghat, buildings are still visible, although entry is restricted-security guards do not allow the general public to get inside unless they have appointments with the administrative officials of the university.
A university official said, “The campus has been renovated countless times.” “Its walls have absorbed the city’s layered history.” For police, however, it was a temporary house, soon moved forward again.
Address #3: CPO Building, behind Ritz Cinema
In 1960, when the court and the Treasury Tis moved to Hazari, the police also left, this time three single-storey colonial structures behind the Ritz Cinema. CPO – Known as the Central Police Office – this complex became a policing hub of Delhi for 15 years.
Today, Sindhi Academy and Urdu Academy -occupied buildings still maintain marks that show that it was once a police headquarters.
Old iron-gaated rooms are served as lock-ups. A vault house, or Kofar-House, is still standing outside the Urdu Academy Gate, where families once paid the coins to meet relatives in custody. Retired educationist Anees Azmi, who worked at the Urdu Academy, recalled the hanging of the British-era within the premises, where the prisoners were killed.
“On the back side of the Sindhi Academy, there are old iron gate rooms used as a havalt (lock-up) for those detained by the police … even the CPO is a heritage site, renewal and construction erased most of its original fabric,” Azmi mourned.
While walking through today, a tiles and marbles are seen covering the old pillars, while the workers hammer the floor. Still the weight of history remains, colonial execution with postkolonial policing.
Address #4: MSO Building, ITO
By the mid -1970s, the Delhi Police still needed more extension homes again. In 1976, he moved to the 13-mangila MSO building on the headquarters of the Public Works Department (PWD).
For more than 43 years, the force was operated here, scattered on 11 rented floors. The building, at the top, dominated the “Delhi Police Headquarters”, became synonymous with the institution. Inside was the Commissioner’s Office, Special Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Central Control Room.
In 2014, a huge wall of Mahatma Gandhi was added to its front, which appears for the traffic crossing Eto. For many people of Delhi, it was a permanent image of Delhi Police: a huge building in the center of one of the busiest intersections in the city.
Even after a change in Jai Singh Road in 2019, many police units – including crime and traffic wings – still work with the MSO. Parking, however, has always been an old issue. “This building may no longer officially be headquartered, but operating, it is still important,” an official said.
Last destination: Jai Singh Road
The step of 2019 was historic. For the first time, Delhi Police had an headquarters that they could call their own.
The twin towers of the new complex are connected from the ground to the fourth floor and again from 10th to 17th. Commissioner Amulya Patnaik captured the first second floor; His successor SN Srivastava followed.
When Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Ashtana became Commissioner in 2021, the top office moved to the 17th floor where it is still today.
The complex refers to modern stability criteria: rainwater harvesting, sewage recycling for gardening, LED lighting, and double-glazed windows for energy efficiency.
Two basement levels adjust around 1,000 vehicles. An auditorium seat 500, and the media has its own lounge.
Senior officers of twelve residential quarter houses.
Symbolically, the move was given time with Patel’s birth anniversary, which outlines the role of police in nation-building. Building location – Parliament is behind the Street Police Station and within the Delhi’s vision of Lutyens – now the police force is in the heart of the capital.
