Delhi’s oldest police post restored, but neglected

In 2023, Delhi’s oldest surviving police chowki — an early 19th century structure at Sarai Rohilla — was restored to its former glory by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). A year-and-a-half after its restoration, the structure that is known as Barh ki Chowki still awaits its occupants, and lies unattended.

Believed to have been built in the early 1800s, Barh ki Chowki served as a police post from 1923 to 1963 for the Sabzi Mandi police station, and eventually fell into disrepair. Neglected and forgotten, it was “rediscovered” by a police officer who was researching a coffee table book for the force, and INTACH and National Culture Fund took up its restoration in March 2022.

HT has learnt that the post was to be inaugurated on the Delhi Police Raising Day, which is observed annually on February 16 — first in 2024, and then in 2025. However, the inauguration was postponed on both occasions.

A police officer aware of the delay said, “It was scheduled but because of unforeseen circumstances, the inauguration was postponed.”

However, deputy commissioner of police (north) Raja Banthia said, “The space is being used by Anti- Auto Theft Squad and Anti Narcotics Squad.”

Subhead: Challenges ahead

During the restoration process, apart from the single-storey linear masonry building, INTACH also restored a 19th century well in the premises, and a garden was prepared around the main building. However, when HT visited the post last week, two small gardens in the courtyard desperately needed water as plants were drying, even as the well to the right — which was restored two years ago — was now filled with the dried leaves and garbage.

INTACH’s conservation architect Hrutika Satdive, who worked on the restoration, said that the building is solely the responsibility of Delhi Police. “Restoration was one aspect of the project and maintenance is another. The original plan as told to us was that it’ll be used by the Sarai Rohilla police station, but if it’s not being used, then it’s at a risk of deterioration. The longevity of such structures depends on their usage. If they are used regularly, then they are also maintained,” she said.

A sub-inspector who has been to Barh ki Chowki said that while it is a beautiful structure, it may be tough to sustain as an office.

“Ceiling fans cannot be installed here because there is no such provision in the restored structure. We have an electricity connection but only table fans can be installed here. Winters may still be manageable, but I am not sure about summers,” he said.

Subhead: Restoring a 19th century site

Historian Swapna Liddle, who edited an English translation of Sair-Ul-Manazil, said the book mentions the post by the name of “Bad ki Chowki”.

“Sair-Ul-Manazil mentions the presence of a police chowki known as Bad Ki Chowki in an area where there is a kala pahad (hill) and a temple of Sheetla. Near this chowki, there is a sarai (inn) of Rohilla Khan,” she said.

Assistant sub-inspector Rajender Kalkal “rediscovered” the structure in 2006, while researching for History and Heritage, a coffee table book that had been commissioned by the then Delhi Police commissioner Dr KK Paul.

“Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu, an organisation that works on art and culture, told me about an early 19th century book Sair-Ul-Manazil by Mirza Sangin Beg which had listed out old establishments in Delhi. The book mentioned that there was a ‘Badi Chowki’ in Sarai of Rahullah Khan. When I reached the location, I found an old structure. We later found out that it was a police post for Subzi Mandi police station from 1923 to 1963,” Kalkal said, adding that the name was possibly derived from the presence of banyan trees surrounding the post.

Sair-ul Manazil (a journey from one destination to another) was reportedly commissioned by the British East India Company, which asked Beg to write about 19th-century Delhi.

According to the coffee table book, Sadar Bazar in north Delhi is the oldest police station in Delhi built in 1861. Besides Sadar Bazar, Sabzi Mandi, Mehrauli, Kotwali and Mundka are among the oldest police stations in Delhi, the coffee table book published by the Delhi Police says.

According to officers, when Barh ki Chowki was “rediscovered”, it was in a dilapidated state, hidden behind a temporary structure from where Anti Auto Theft Squad’s office was operating from. The roof had collapsed and heavy vegetation had come up around the walls.

During restoration, INTACH officials repaired the damaged roof, removed the trees that were intertwined with the building, filled the gaps and cracks that had developed over the years, inserted doors and windows, and removed the porta cabins that blocked the view of the chowki while illuminating it.

Two years later, the post lies in need of care — again.