The Tamil Nadu Police museum is rich with 200-year-old artefacts

Now open to the public, it is a tribute to the police personnel.

By Anoushka Sawhney

“We need to preserve these instruments,” said Steve Borgia, CMD, INDeco Hotels and honorary executive curator of the Police Museum.

Tamil Nadu Police Museum was inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin on September 28, 2021. This 1852 building, protected from getting destroyed, is situated at 483 Pantheon Road, Egmore.

The museum contains equipment, which is around 200-years-old. “We have artefacts from the sandalwood smuggler Veerappan,” said Borgia.

They are collected from various police stations and include rifles, swords, temple sculptures, forensic kits, and old letters.

Borgia said that the museum is a tribute to the contribution of the police personnel who work tirelessly around the clock for us. It is a tribute to their family as well.

A nominal fee of Rs. 10 is charged at the entry except for students from government schools.

Before the interview, Borgia was seen guiding a team of 13 army personnel, selected based on their rank, who would be the tour guide of the museum. The team includes eight women and five men.

Steve Borgia in blue t-shirt on the left training army personnel.

The old two-storied building was Chennai Police Commissioner’s office from 1856 to 2013. With an area of 24,000 sq. ft., the building transformed into a museum at the cost of Rs. 6.47 crore.

The journey towards the building of the museum began in October 2020 and it took nine months to restore the building.

Borgia said that along with his co-curators, a team of ten interns from an architecture background, they built the museum. “It took 45 days after the construction was over to build this.”

Some more artefacts will be added, and the leftover construction of building an amphitheatre is also going on. Borgia said that they are also building a space to ensure access to the museum by special people.

One of the best police museums today is in Prague, said Borgia.

“But, in five years, Tamil Nadu Police Museum will be the world’s best police museum.”