Police station of family reunions

On June 19, a sixyear-old Class 2 student, Rubiya, from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh reached India Gate with her family to enjoy an evening on the lawns. After spending a few hours, the family-comprising the girl's parents and relatives - boarded two separate auto-rickshaws and left for their place of stay in Bhajanpura, only to find that Rubiya was missing.

- Karn Pratap Singh

Her parents panicked and informed the police control room and were told to go back to India Gate. Around 9pm, her parents reached the police post near the C Hexagon, where the police personnel were already present with their daughter.

Rubiya's was not a unique case for the local police. In the past two months, personnel at the newly created Kartavya Path police station have traced nearly 40 children, aged between 11 months and 10 years, and safely handed them over to their families. Most of these children were lost during an outing at India Gate.

The police station, which replaced the old Boat Club police chowki, started functioning from its makeshift structure near Rail Bhawan on June 10. The police station currently operates out of a porta cabin.

Twenty-three first information reports (FIRS) were registered here in two months related to petty crimes. However, tracing and reuniting children separated from their families at India Gate and the adjacent lawns on Kartavya Path is what keeps 80-odd personnel of the police station busy every day, especially during evenings and on weekends.