Delhi Police headquarters evolution a reflection of the Capital

The five headquarters mirror the story of Delhi: from Partition influx to postcolonial expansion, from Kashmere Gate to ITO.

On October 31, 2019, a gleaming 17-storey glass-and-concrete tower rose above Jai Singh Road in central Delhi, opposite the domes of Bangla Sahib Gurdwara. It was more than just another office block in the Capital’s skyline. For the first time ever, the Delhi Police had a home of its own.

The 2019 move was historic. For the first time, Delhi Police had a headquarters they could call their own at Jai Singh Road. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

The building, constructed at a cost of ₹286 crore on over 8 acres, was inaugurated by Union home minister Amit Shah on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary. It consolidated, under one roof, the offices of the police commissioner and the heads of all major units, with space for operations, residences, an auditorium, and even a media lounge. To a force that had spent 71 years borrowing space, it was a long-awaited move.

Before this, the city police had worked for more than four decades out of the Public Works Department’s MSO building at ITO, where its headquarters were scattered across 11 rented floors. And before that, Delhi Police cycled through three addresses in Kashmere Gate. Each building reflected a moment in the Capital’s history, from the uncertainty of Partition to the turbulence of the 1970s.

The story of Delhi Police headquarters, then, is not just about office shifts. It is also about the city’s changing geography, and it encapsulates the way policing itself has grown and evolved alongside Delhi.

The Delhi Police’s five headquarters mirror the story of Delhi itself: from the Partition influx to postcolonial expansion, from the colonial compounds of Kashmere Gate to the vertical towers of ITO, and finally to a gleaming address in the power corridors.

Each address still stands. Some are neglected, their ceilings patched with fibre sheets. Others have been repurposed into universities or academies. Together, they form a hidden heritage trail of Delhi policing.

Address #1: Old Court Compound, Kashmere Gate

In 1947, as Partition redrew the subcontinent, Delhi absorbed a massive influx of refugees and saw a sharp spike in crime. The police, until then a unit of the Punjab Police headquartered at Ambala, was reorganised. On February 16, 1948, DW Mehra became Delhi’s first inspector general of police (IGP) – in-charge of a relatively small force, the strength of which was increased from 1,951 to about 8,000.

His office was located in the first floor of a modest two-storey British-era structure at Kashmere Gate – today known as the “Old Court Compound.” Built with lime mortar, stone, and heavy wood, the building had long verandas and iron-railed staircases.

To find it now, one must walk 300 metres from Ritz Cinema down a congested lane. The Chhoti Masjid stands adjacent the compound; the bustle of Kashmere Gate ISBT is audible from the building. Inside, the structure is worn and patched. The ground floor has eight rooms, many sealed with rusting iron gates; others serve as record rooms for land documents. On the first floor, where Delhi Police’s top brass once met, the offices of the sub-registrar, tehsildar, and Nehru Yuva Kendra function today.

“I know it’s a heritage building. But even I didn’t know it was the first headquarters of the Delhi Police. The structure is getting weak, especially its roof that leaks during rains. Around five years, the ceiling of our office collapsed. A fibre sheet was installed to ensure the broken items from the roof do not fall on us,” said Udaybir, district youth officer, who is the in-charge of Nehru Yuva Kendra’s Central Delhi office at the building.

While officials have been unable to trace any document that explains why the headquarters was shifted out of the building, officers said they believe that by 1952, just four years after Delhi Police had moved in, the force had already outgrown it.

Delhi’s population was rising, and the cramped quarters proved inadequate.

The Dara Shikoh library compound. Originally the mansion of a Mughal noble, it later became the residence of David Ochterlony, the first British Resident at Shah Alam’s court. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Address #2: Dara Shikoh’s library compound

The next address was inside the compound of Dara Shikoh’s Library, near today’s General Post Office in Kashmere Gate. Here, a long row of single-storey rooms housed the city’s police leadership.

The library building itself has a layered history: originally the mansion of a Mughal noble, it later became the residence of David Ochterlony, the first British Resident at Shah Alam’s court. Over the decades, it transformed into a college, a district school, and an archaeology office. By the 1950s, the compound included offices that accommodated Delhi Police’s expanding administration.

Today, those same rooms serve as the administrative block of Dr BR Ambedkar University. The vice-chancellor and registrar sit where the IGP once did. From the gate at Lothian Marg-Kela Ghat, the buildings are still visible, though entry is restricted – security guards do not allow the general public inside unless they have appointments with administrative officials of the university.

“This compound has been repurposed countless times,” said a university official. “Its walls have absorbed the city’s layered history.” For the police, though, it was a temporary home, soon outgrown again.

Address #3: CPO building, behind Ritz Cinema

In 1960, when courts and the treasury shifted to Tis Hazari, the police too moved, this time to three single-storey colonial structures behind Ritz Cinema. Known as the CPO – Central Police Office – this compound became Delhi’s policing hub for 15 years.

The buildings, today occupied by the Sindhi Academy and Urdu Academy, still retain traces that show it was a police headquarters once.

Old iron-gated rooms served as lock-ups. A tijori ghar, or coffer-house, still stands outside the Urdu Academy gate, where families once paid coins to meet relatives in custody. Retired academician Anis Azmi, who worked at the Urdu Academy, recalled British-era gallows within the compound where prisoners were executed.

“On the rear side of the Sindhi Academy, there are rooms having old iron gates that were used as hawalaats (lock-up) for people detained by police… Even as the CPO is a heritage site, renovation and construction have erased much of its original fabric,” Azmi lamented.

Walking through today, one sees tiles and marbles covering old pillars, while workers hammer at floors. Yet the weight of history remains, mingling colonial executions with postcolonial policing.

Address #4: MSO building, ITO

By the mid-1970s, Delhi Police yet again needed a far more expansive home. In 1976, they moved to the 13-storey MSO building on Vikas Marg, the headquarters of the Public Works Department (PWD).

For more than 43 years, the force operated here, scattered across 11 rented floors. The building, capped with the words “Delhi Police Headquarters” on the top, became synonymous with the institution itself. Inside were the commissioner’s office, special commissioners, deputy commissioners, and the central control room.

In 2014, a giant mural of Mahatma Gandhi was added to its façade, visible to traffic crossing ITO. For many Delhiites, this was the enduring image of Delhi Police: a towering building at the heart of one of the city’s busiest intersections.

Even after the shift to Jai Singh Road in 2019, several police units — including crime and traffic wings — still function from MSO. Parking, however, has always been a chronic issue. “This building may no longer be headquarters officially, but operationally, it is still important,” said one officer.

Final destination: Jai Singh Road

The 2019 move was historic. For the first time, Delhi Police had a headquarters they could call their own.

The twin towers of the new complex are connected from ground to fourth floor and again from the 10th to 17th. Commissioner Amulya Patnaik first occupied the second floor; his successor SN Shrivastava followed.

When Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana became commissioner in 2021, the top office shifted to the 17th floor, where it remains today.

The complex reflects modern sustainability norms: rainwater harvesting, sewage recycling for horticulture, LED lighting, and double-glazed windows for energy efficiency.

Two basement levels accommodate nearly 1,000 vehicles. An auditorium seats 500, and the media have their own lounge.

Twelve residential quarters house senior officers.

Symbolically, the move was timed with Patel’s birth anniversary, underscoring the role of police in nation-building. The building’s location – behind the Parliament Street police station and within sight of Lutyens’ Delhi – now places the police force at the heart of the Capital.