Khan Bahadur Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara ( gu, કાવસજી જમશેદજી પેટીગરા) (24 November 1877 – 28 March 1941) was the first Indian to become the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Mumbai Police in 1928. He was in charge of the Crime Branch division and was noted for his intelligence network. A decorated officer, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Companion of the Indian Empire (CIE) and awarded the

King's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

(KPM). Petigara was also awarded the Imperial Service Order (ISO) and used the honorific title "Khan Bahadur". He joined the police force as a sub-inspector at the CID (Criminal Investigations Department), and gradually rose through the ranks. In 1928, he was promoted to the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (I ...

rank, one that very few Indians achieved in those days. Among his accomplishments was his role in foiling an attempt by Indian freedom activist

Manabendra Nath Roy Manabendra Nath Roy (born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, better known as M. N. Roy; 21 March 1887 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20th century. Roy ...

in toppling the government. Despite being a staunch loyalist of the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

n government, he was respected by Indian freedom fighters. When

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

applied for a passport in 1931 to attend the second

Round Table Conference The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in Dec ...

in London, Petigara was cited as one of his references. He retired from the police force in 1936. On 1940-06-08 a statue of him was erected for the "valuable services rendered to the city". The statue is located near

Metro Adlabs Metro INOX Cinemas (formerly Metro Big Cinema (2008–2016), Metro Adlabs (2006–2008) and Metro Cinema (1938–2006)) is an Art Deco ''Heritage grade IIA'' multiplex Movie theatre in Mumbai, India built in 1938. It was built and originally run ...

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbour ...

. He died on 28 March 1941.

Personal life

Petigara was born on 24 November 1877 to Jamshedji Nusserwanji Petigara and Dhunbhaiji Bastavalla. He did his schooling in Surat in Gujarat, and later Bombay (now

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

). He was married to Avambai, the daughter of Jehangirshaw Ardeshir Taleyarkhan. They had one son. He was also the estate manager of

Prince Aly Khan Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...

at Aga Khan building in

Dalal Street Dalal Street ( hi, script=Latn, dalāl path, mr, script=Latn, dalāl gallī) in Financial District of Fort in Mumbai, is the address of the Bombay Stock Exchange and several financial institutions of the world. The term “Dalal Street” ha ...

in Mumbai. He died on 28 March 1941 after undergoing an operation.

Decorations

References

External links

Photo of his felicitation

Figureheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petigara 1877 births 1941 deaths Indian civil servants Indian Companions of the Imperial Service Order Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Colonial recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Police Commissioners of Mumbai Parsi people from Mumbai People from Surat Parsi people Indian justices of the peace Indian police officers Politicians from Mumbai Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal Police officers in British India