The history of the organization of the Police Force in Kolkata dates back to the time of the British reign. Kolkata was earlier known as Calcutta and was one tiny part of the huge British Empire.
The system of policing in India was earlier attributed only to the Mughal Empire and the people who fell under its government. One person from the Mughal Empire was appointed as the Kotwal in each town that fell within the Mughal Domain. This person was in charge of upholding the law and order in the town and dealing with any kinds of discrepancy that might have arisen. The Kotwal has 45 peons, working as subordinate officers, below him. Each of these peons carried some kind of weapon like a stave or a spear for defensive measures.
In the year 1720 the East India Company appointed one of its own people as the head officer with the duties of protecting the law and prosecuting criminals. One Indian officer was appointed as his assistant and was called the ‘Black Deputy’. The Indian officer had three Naib-Dewans working under him each of them controlling one department. One of these was the Police department. The police stations were called ‘Thanas’ then and the officer in-charge was the ‘Thanedar’. The ‘Thanedars’ were aided by a group of subordinate officers called ‘Naiks’ and ‘Paiks’. There was also a small group of River Police who looked after the river area.
Today, too, this structure is followed, but with more departments and different names
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