NewDelhi: Delhi Police will witness a history of sorts on Thursday as it will get a new Commissioner and the force settles down at its new headquarters after 44 years at the ITO. The current police headquarters on ITO Marg was shifted from Kashmere Gate in 1975-76. On October 31, it would be shifted to a fort-like 17-storey building on Jai Singh Marg in central Delhi.
The first Delhi Police headquarters came up in 1912 during the British era at the Kashmere Gate. After India attained Independence, the police headquarters was shifted to the PWD Building on ITO Marg in the 1970s. In those days, the force was headed by an Inspector General (IG). In July 1976, the post of IG was replaced with that of Commissioner when Jai Narayan Chaturvedi was appointed as the first Commissioner of Police (CP) of Delhi Police.
From 1975-76 to October 29, Delhi Police has been headed by 20 IPS officers. They include P.S. Bhinder, Bajrang Lal, S.C. Tandon, S.S. Jog, Ved Marwah, Raja Vijay Karan, Arun Bhagat, Mukund Bihari Kaushal, Nikhil Kumar, Tilak Raj Kakkad, Virendra Narayan Singh, Ajay Raj Sharma, Radheyshyam Gupta, Krishna Kant Pal, Yudhvir Singh Dadwal, Neeraj Kumar, BS Bassi, Alok Kumar Varma (former director of CBI).
All these Commissioners of Delhi Police had their office at the ITO Marg headquarters. Incumbent Commissioner Amulya Patnaik is the 21st IPS officer to lead the Delhi Police. Now, for the first time in four decades, a new commissioner has been appointment and change of headquarters are scheduled to happen on the same day.
The new Delhi Police headquarters building is being developed on a private-public partnership model. The new headquarter will have parking capacity of 1,000 cars. The building is said to be earthquake-resistant and would also house a police museum. Twelve residential flats have been constructed in each floor.
The new building will have two plush offices for the Commissioner — one on 2nd floor, another on 14th. A special seating arrangement of 150 top IPS officers has also been made. The building would be no less than a fort as special attention has been given towards its security. No one would enter without swiping the card. The entire building would be guarded by commandos armed with sophisticated weapons.
In the first phase of shifting on Thursday, up to four floors would be made available for carrying out the office work. The new police headquarters has been constructed in an area of 8.90 lakh square ft and is 75 metres tall. The building would be illuminated by the LED lights. The windows have especially been designed to let more daylight enter the work stations.
Besides, every nook and corner of the building would be fitted with CCTVs. To keep suspicious vehicles at bay, boom barriers and modern road blockers have been put into place. High-resolution video projectors would be used during meetings. The company which constructed it would look after its maintenance for the first 15 years. The construction had begun on March 31, 2016.
Bureau Report
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