Oldest case property at Daryaganj dates back to 1968

Revealing some interesting things about this police station, a police official said one of the oldest case property stored in the maal khana (store room) were wine pouches, seized in 1968. He added that back then one man was arrested under Sections of the Excise Act. However, in 2015, the oldest case property, the wine  pouches had to be transferred to the centralised district maal khana, said a senior official of the Central District. 

Talking about the wine pouches, the officer said, “Those were red wine pouches. In those days, cheap wine used to come in pouches. Since the police station was situated in Old Delhi, the FIR too was written in Urdu,”

Spread over 5 sqkm, the police station falls under the Central district. Covering a population of over five lakh, the area is inhabited by 60 per cent Muslims and 39 per cent Hindus. The police station is endowed to protect an MCD parking area, Rajghat, Delhi Stock Exchange and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) office, apart from 15 other vital places.

The building was formally inaugurated in 1930. However, it’s interesting to underline here that the police station registered its maiden FIR in 1913. With a total strength of three inspectors, nine sub-inspectors, eight assistant sub-inspectors, 22 head constables and around 110 constables, the police station covers five divisions, which are further divided into 10 beats.

According to another police officer, the building is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). “We cant make big structural changes in the building. Since the building comes under the heritage category, to go ahead with construction at any level, a permission has to be sought from the ASI,” he said.

Like any other such facility, the Daryaganj police station houses a women help desk room and a reporting room – where updates of the accused, locked up in its cell, are maintained. It also has a maal khana. Besides, the building houses a room for the reader to the SHO, one room for the SHO and a room each for inspectors of investigation and Anti Terror Organisation (ATO). Twenty-seven CCTV cameras maintain a ‘hawk eye’ on the police station premises.

While four are License Plate Recognition cameras, 11 are fixed. The officer said maximum cases of motor vehicle theft, followed by snatching and robber, are registered at the police station.