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Photos: Inside India’s best police station at Rajasthan’s Kalu

The Kalu police station in Bikaner district of Rajasthan was adjudged India’s best among 15,666 police stations by the ministry of home affairs in 2018. The station provides facilities like attached toilets and air coolers at jails, lunch for complainants, and a claim to provide relief to the complainants within 24 hours. Locals say that the police personnel don’t ask for any bribes. The police have devised several measures to curb the crime rate in the region, with the number of First Information Reports (FIRs) on a decline.

Updated on: Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM IST

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Policemen interact with a complainant during a counselling session at the Panchayat Kaksh of Kalu police station, where mediations are held to solve quarrels -- which make the majority of the complaints. The station was adjudged India’s best among 15,666 police stations by the ministry of home affairs in 2018. Campbell Bay in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Farakka in West Bengal bagged the second and third positions respectively. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

Policemen interact with a complainant during a counselling session at the Panchayat Kaksh of Kalu police station, where mediations are held to solve quarrels -- which make the majority of the complaints. The station was adjudged India’s best among 15,666 police stations by the ministry of home affairs in 2018. Campbell Bay in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Farakka in West Bengal bagged the second and third positions respectively. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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Set up in 2012 to cater to villagers who would earlier have to travel up to 50km to Lunkaransar and Mahajan to file a complaint, the Kalu police station is located in an arid and sandy region about 300 km from Jaipur and 90 km from Bikaner. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

Set up in 2012 to cater to villagers who would earlier have to travel up to 50km to Lunkaransar and Mahajan to file a complaint, the Kalu police station is located in an arid and sandy region about 300 km from Jaipur and 90 km from Bikaner. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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With 25 villages under its jurisdiction, the police station serves a population of around 65,000 people, most of whom are involved in farming or cattle-rearing. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

With 25 villages under its jurisdiction, the police station serves a population of around 65,000 people, most of whom are involved in farming or cattle-rearing. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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Station House Officer (SHO) Devilal Saharan, 33, at his cabin. Every visitor at this police station is offered cold water and tea. Those coming from faraway places are also given lunch. “A complainant may not have had the time to eat. Us offering food helps them manage their frustration,” said Saharan, who took over in February. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

Station House Officer (SHO) Devilal Saharan, 33, at his cabin. Every visitor at this police station is offered cold water and tea. Those coming from faraway places are also given lunch. “A complainant may not have had the time to eat. Us offering food helps them manage their frustration,” said Saharan, who took over in February. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A cooler is seen outside a jail at the station. Each jail is equipped with an attached toilet and an air cooler. Saharan has memorised and can recite the DK Basu guidelines – a set of rules to be followed after the arrest of a suspect. “To follow the law by the book, I need to know the law by heart,” said Saharan. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

A cooler is seen outside a jail at the station. Each jail is equipped with an attached toilet and an air cooler. Saharan has memorised and can recite the DK Basu guidelines – a set of rules to be followed after the arrest of a suspect. “To follow the law by the book, I need to know the law by heart,” said Saharan. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A police personnel conducts an alcohol test at the station. From 74 in 2014 to 37 last year, the number of first information reports (FIRs) registered at this police station has been on a constant decline. “Only four cases remain unsolved so far,” said Saharan. Since 2014, 10 thefts have taken place here, a dozen rape cases, six instances of kidnapping, and no robberies. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

A police personnel conducts an alcohol test at the station. From 74 in 2014 to 37 last year, the number of first information reports (FIRs) registered at this police station has been on a constant decline. “Only four cases remain unsolved so far,” said Saharan. Since 2014, 10 thefts have taken place here, a dozen rape cases, six instances of kidnapping, and no robberies. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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Locals say they have never faced a request for bribe while dealing with the police in Kalu. “Our policemen have flat stomachs. That is because they do not eat our money, said Ayub Ali, a businessman. “The Kalu police are not beggars,” said Manak Chand Naai, who runs a juice shop in the market. The local police refuse to drink even tea or juice for free in the local markets. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

Locals say they have never faced a request for bribe while dealing with the police in Kalu. “Our policemen have flat stomachs. That is because they do not eat our money, said Ayub Ali, a businessman. “The Kalu police are not beggars,” said Manak Chand Naai, who runs a juice shop in the market. The local police refuse to drink even tea or juice for free in the local markets. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A police personnel helps a worker to clean a washroom at the station. Om Prakash, a sanitation worker from Nathusar village, said when he was asked by a policeman to clean up the station last winter, he was prepared to not get paid. “I couldn’t believe it when the police gave me Rs. 200 for a few hours of work,” said Prakash, who now works at the police station. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

A police personnel helps a worker to clean a washroom at the station. Om Prakash, a sanitation worker from Nathusar village, said when he was asked by a policeman to clean up the station last winter, he was prepared to not get paid. “I couldn’t believe it when the police gave me Rs. 200 for a few hours of work,” said Prakash, who now works at the police station. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A policeman waters plants at the station. The reputation wasn’t built overnight, says Pradeep Mohan Sharma, the superintendent of police (Bikaner). “Five SHOs have served at this police station. All of them were officers with impeccable integrity. They ensured that their subordinates were at their best while dealing with the public. Now, any officer who is posted there knows what the reputation is and what is to be done to maintain it,” said Sharma. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

A policeman waters plants at the station. The reputation wasn’t built overnight, says Pradeep Mohan Sharma, the superintendent of police (Bikaner). “Five SHOs have served at this police station. All of them were officers with impeccable integrity. They ensured that their subordinates were at their best while dealing with the public. Now, any officer who is posted there knows what the reputation is and what is to be done to maintain it,” said Sharma. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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A policeman helps a senior citizen passenger to carry his luggage inside a bus near the station. Apart from informers, the police also rely on a 37-member Community Liaison Group (CLG) consisting of elderly influential people chosen from each village under their jurisdiction. In cases of conflicts and quarrels, be it within a family or between neighbours, the two warring parties are first “counseled” by members of CLG before any FIR is filed. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

A policeman helps a senior citizen passenger to carry his luggage inside a bus near the station. Apart from informers, the police also rely on a 37-member Community Liaison Group (CLG) consisting of elderly influential people chosen from each village under their jurisdiction. In cases of conflicts and quarrels, be it within a family or between neighbours, the two warring parties are first “counseled” by members of CLG before any FIR is filed. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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Women police personnel at the station. The police station also has a separate help desk for women, a waiting room furnished with sofa sets, and walls without any trace of gutkha stains. When complainants walk into the police station, they are greeted with the trademark welcome: “We promise you relief within 24 hours.” (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

Women police personnel at the station. The police station also has a separate help desk for women, a waiting room furnished with sofa sets, and walls without any trace of gutkha stains. When complainants walk into the police station, they are greeted with the trademark welcome: “We promise you relief within 24 hours.” (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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Bhupendra Singh, Rajasthan’s director general of police (DGP), said the accessibility and outreach of Kalu police station made it stand out from other police stations in the country. “The Kalu police are highly accessible. The police return your call if they couldn’t receive it. The SHOs in Kalu make it a point to visit every village once a fortnight. This is the general attitude with the Rajasthan Police, but Kalu has excelled,” he said. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

Updated on Jul 18, 2019 12:33 PM

Bhupendra Singh, Rajasthan’s director general of police (DGP), said the accessibility and outreach of Kalu police station made it stand out from other police stations in the country. “The Kalu police are highly accessible. The police return your call if they couldn’t receive it. The SHOs in Kalu make it a point to visit every village once a fortnight. This is the general attitude with the Rajasthan Police, but Kalu has excelled,” he said. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

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