Sagar: Tejgarh police station in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh is one such rare police station where people take off their shoes before entering it. The reason being the Hazrat Baba Muradshah's dargah that is present inside the police station.
Be it a policeman or a complainant, any person who enters the police station, first offers prayers at the dargah. If someone comes to file a false report then police takes him to the dargah where he speaks the truth. All disputes are taken to the dargah for settlement.
Situated 35 km away from the Damoh district headquarters, the Tejgarh police station and its dargah is popular in entire Bundelkhand. Along with the people of the area, the staff and officer-in-charge of Tejgarh police station have immense faith on the dargah. Whenever a new officer is posted in the police station the prior to joining work he offers prayers at the dargah. Local people said that many new in-charges did not offer prayers at the dargah before joining duty and they could not stay here for long.
Even, people refrain from lodging false complaints at the police station in the fear of being punished by the Almighty. Locals said that people are afraid that if they lie in front of Hazrat Baba Muradshah's dargah they will have to pay for their sin. "Many times, complainants reach the police station to file a false report. When policemen realise that the complainant is lying they take him to the dargah where he finally accepts his fault," said a local.
Minor disputes are also resolved in front of Hazrat Baba Muradshah's dargah. Decisions that are taken in front of the dargah are easily accepted by the people.
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Salim Mulla, who has been serving at the dargah for the last six generations said Tejgarh was ruled by Raja Teji Singh, who used to conduct court at this place to settle the disputes of his kingdom. When the British came, Teji Singh was removed and the British set up a police station in his court. Since then, Tejgarh police station is operating in the same place, Mulla said.
Mulla said efforts were taken in the past to shift the police station but it could not be relocated. In 1973, preparations were made to shift the police station by constructing a new police station building, he said. A new police station building was constructed at some distance from Tejgarh. The work of demolishing the old police station was started along with shifting the dargah.
"Soon cracks started appearing in the building of the new police station and the newly constructed police station collapsed. When IG Sagar was about to come to Tezgarh to inaugurate the police station, his vehicle broke down on the way," he said. It is said that Hazrat Baba Muradshah appeared in the dream of the man who served at the dargah at that time and expressed his desire to stay at the old place.
When senior police officials came to know about this, the Home Department decided to keep the police station as it was and since then it has been operating from here, said Mulla. Tejgarh police station in-charge Dharmendra Upadhyay said both the police and people of the area have faith in the dargah of Hazrat Baba Muradshah. Every Friday, a chadar is presented for offering at the dargah, he said.
