Mumbai, May 8: Mumbai -- the city that never sleeps -- is full of surprises, the likes of which you have never come across ever before! The British have left their impression on many architectural structures across Mumbai, including the iconic UNESCO-affiliated railway stations, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation building and many others.

On Tuesday, the Mumbai Police tweeted a photo of Pydhonie Police station with a hashtag #TriviaTuesday. According to the tweet, the Pydhonie police station is one the oldest police station in Mumbai built in the year 1860 and is probably one of the oldest police stations in the city from records.

The stone façade, iron-railing arch balconies and iron stairs adorn the century-old police station, despite its current modern interiors. The police station also has a part to play in the Indian history because, interestingly, freedom fighter Damodar Veer Savarkar was also believed to be kept in the lockup at the ground floor of the Pydhonie police station.

Along with Pydhonie, let's take a look at all of Mumbai's heritage police stations.

Gamdevi Police station of South Mumbai is also one of the oldest in the city. The police station built in the year 1914, marked its hundredth anniversary, last year. According to the historians, the police station holds a lot of significance as posh areas like Nepean Sea Road, Lamington Road and today's Raj Bhavan which also fell under its jurisdiction till the late 1980s, however, after the Malabar Hill police station was established, it took over one-third of its jurisdiction. In the 60s, policemen would take pride in being posted at this station thanks to its stately heritage structure, jurisdictional status and proximity to VVIPs.

Mahim Police Station, situated at 200 meters from the Mahim Dargah has historical significance. The police station is built in the year 1923 and is 95 years old. Interestingly, apart from Muslim believers who come to seek blessings at the dargah, the Mumbai police force also visits dargah and has the unique privilege of laying the first chadar on the tomb of Makhdum Ali Mahimi every year during the Urs festival. Mahimi, the 14th-century Sufi scholar for whom the dargah was built, also happens to be the patron saint of the Mumbai police. The annual ten-day Urs festival is celebrated on the 13th day of Shawwal (the tenth month of the Islamic lunar calendar), and millions of devotees visit the dargah during that time.

A room next to the office of the senior police inspector of the police station contains the seer's belongings -- a pair of sandals, his chair and his calligraphic handwritten Qur'an. Once every year, the room is opened for public view. Senior police inspector Raymond Esquire bought the cupboard in 1920 as a tribute to the saint.

The city police was first formed as a Portuguese outpost in Mumbai and a few years later in 1669 by a Bhandari Militia was set up by the goverener at Sion, Sewri and Mahim. For the next century, the city police force had 500 men maintained throughout. The first superintendent of police was Simon Halliday whose tenure was from 1793 to 1808. During this time, the city was divided into policing zones under two European constables each. The police force was finally modernised in 1908.

Eighteen new state-of-the-art police stations followed by 1924 to improve the performance of the police force. The new stations were equipped with rooms to register crimes, a charge room and cell along with boarding facilities for European and Indian staff.

Colaba and Nagpada stations built in 1906 also form a big part of Mumbai's architechtural heritage. Esplanade or Azad Maidan station formed in 1916; Gamdevi was built in 1917; V P Road, Byculla, Agripada, Bhoiwada, Kingsway, Mahim Delisle Road and Yellow Gate stations were all built between 1923 and 1924. Among the last ones was Kala Chowkie, built in 1928. New stations were also built in Bandra, Andheri and Santa Cruz in the 40s, when the suburban districts came under Greater Bombay.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2018 02:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).