Less than a fortnight after Rajpath was renamed Kartavya Path, a new police station and jurisdiction by the same name has been carved out to end the ambiguity and allow Delhi police to focus on the most sensitive and VVIP area of the national capital region (NCR).
The Kartavya Path refers to the nearly 2-km stretch from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan.
According to a notification issued by Delhi LG Vinai Saxena on September 21, Kartavya Path police station has been created from the existing three police stations - Parliament Street, South Avenue and Tilak Marg "in order to facilitate extension of better police assistance to the public".
The Delhi Police, however, is still to execute the LG's order on the ground since the New Delhi district police, whom businessline contacted, however, had no information to share in this regard.
A just-retired Delhi police commissioner who did not wish to be identified, said "the Ministry of Home Affairs' move is possibly to bring under one police station the new central vista which is coming up as an administration hub of the union government. The fresh initiative will not only remove the ambiguity over jurisdiction among adjoining police stations but reorient policing towards the seat of power".
The notification said that Kartavya PS’s jurisdiction in the north side would cover - North Block, Raisina Road without Rail Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan, Dr Rajender Prasad Road including Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, JSR Round About (R/A); to the south it will cover Man Singh R/A, Vice President House, Vigyan Bhawan, National Museum, Nirman Bhawan, Udhyog Bhawan R/A and Sunehari Bagh Masjid; to the east its jurisdiction will be over C-Hexagon (popularly known as India Gate), including the National Stadium, leading to Akbar Road and include Vanijaya Bhawan and Ashok Road and Raksha Bhawan; to the west its reach will begin from North and South Block, and include the in-between road towards President’s House which still remains with South Avenue police station, as per the new notification.
The first port of call for most of these areas now covered under Kartavya PS, were under the jurisdiction of the Boat Club Police Post and a proposal was pending to convert it into a full-fledged police station given its sensitive jurisdiction, said police sources.
With the new addition, the number of Delhi police stations have gone up to 210 which come under the supervision of 15 districts and 6 ranges.