Know your police station: VIP duties, mostly

Located in a small piece of land near the Ring Road flyover, IP Estate police station is spread roughly across 1000 square yards.

Established in 1987, the IP Estate police station is considered one of the key stations of the Central district, where cops are mostly deployed for arrangement duties and to tackle regular protests outside the Delhi Police Headquarters, personnel of the IP Estate police station said.

With two santris posted at the entrance of the station round the clock, one can see dozens of vehicles – mostly impounded for rash driving – at the entrance of the station. While some are parked at the entrance, others find space under the flyover.

Functioning under a ‘temporary structure’, this police station is mainly concerned with matters pertaining to several authorities such as Delhi Secretariat, Delhi Police headquarters, PWD headquarters, office of the Income Tax Department, Comptroller and Auditor General, World Health Organisation, ICAI building etc.

Apart from these, the police station is largely concerned with the cases reported in four government hospitals that come under its jurisdiction, which include Lok Nayak Hospital, GB Pant hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia.

Talking about what keeps the cops of the IP Estate police station on their toes, an inspector on condition of anonymity told Millennium Post, that most of the times the cops are engrossed in arrangement duties. With Indira Gandhi and Feroz Shah Kotla stadium under their ambit, the police are employed in security duties. Additionally, the IP Bus Depot and Ambedkar Bus Terminal also 

come under the jurisdiction of the IP Estate station.

An officer shared how they are deployed to keep an eye on the movement of two international buses, one from India to Nepal and the other to Pakistan. “Both the buses start from the DTC Ambedkar terminal. The buses run twice in the day, one at six in the morning and the other at six in the evening,” the officer said.

The most recent example of arrangement duty where personnel of the IP estate stations were deployed was the successful interactive session ‘Townhall’ organised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, where the PM addressed the masses on several issues.

“Apart from the arrangement duties, like every police station crimes are reported here. However, it is crimes like snatching, followed by fatal accidents, which are largely reported. The maximum cases that this police station receives are of snatching. With broad roads, robbers easily escape after snatching mobile phones, wallets,” said another officer.

In terms of the strength of the cops at the police station, a senior officer refused to divulge the exact figures, pointing at the security aspect as one of the major reasons.

Talking about the problems which the cops face, an official shared how – despite being a crucial police station – the station functions from a 'temporary structure'. Coupled with this problem is the staff shortage, pointed out another officer.