100-yr-old records found at police station

At the time,the police station from where the papers have been found had under its jurisdiction the trans-Yamuna area,which made up one-fourth of Delhi. In 1912,Delhi Police had been set up as a unit separate from Punjab Police. Hadow took charge as superintendent (equivalent to present-day police commissioner) and remained in the post until 1917.

The papers are now in the custody of Delhi Police Museum and will be sent for chemical treatment for preservation. These are unlikely to be handed over to the National Archives as the Delhi Police has earlier too argued that papers concerning it are classified files of history and should be retained by it. The inspector who first realised the worth of the documents is currently posted at the police museum.

The contents indicate that while very few FIRs were registered in the early years of the 20th Century,as time passed and the Independence movement gathered strength,people were increasingly booked for defying government orders and under the Defence of India Rules. A Superintendent of Police recorded in 1930 the arrest of a group of Congress workers for shouting ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ slogans and for refusing to pay taxes. This was the time of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

In 1942,the policemen were struggling to contain the Quit India protests despite imposition of Section 144,which prohibits people from gathering in large numbers. One noting talks of 23 persons being convicted,while another mentions the arrest of a former teacher of “Tilak High School”. Three men were shot by the police for trying to “sabotage” a railway line.

A month after the movement started in 1942,people were also arrested for giving “objectionable speeches” in villages. A report contains the names of all those arrested for this.

A file noting of 1943 talks of a constable being prevented from arresting a British military officer charged with killing a vendor. He later absconded.

There is one revelation that has left even policemen of Shahdara police station stumped. The papers show that there were separate Hindu and Muslim kitchens inside the police station once. Senior police officials said they had only heard of the same,they never thought it was real.