In the quiet corners of Tiryani police station, deep in Telangana’s Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district, IPS officer S. Chittarajan stumbled upon an entry that made him pause. While going through old records, he found a note, barely a line, about a Claymore mine once discovered right inside the police station compound.
It was enough to spark his curiosity. Why was an explosive hidden here? Who planted it? What became of that forgotten corner of the building once the threat had passed?
A FORGOTTEN BUILDING, A NEW IDEA
A 2021 batch officer now serving as Assistant Superintendent of Police in Asifabad, Chittarajan decided to see the old site for himself. When he reached the abandoned structure, what he found wasn’t decay alone. In the same yard that once hid a mine, he saw local youngsters laughing and spiking volleyballs over a net, using kits the police had given them.
When he asked them what they dreamed of doing next, their answers surprised him. Many spoke of Hyderabad. They wanted to move to the city’s bustling coaching hubs, hoping to crack competitive exams and build better lives.
That conversation stuck with him. An old, unused police station, once a place marked by fear, suddenly seemed like the perfect place to nurture new ambitions.
“It immediately struck me that the old, unused police station could be repurposed into something meaningful: a library where these students could study and prepare for exams,” Chittarajan shared with the media.
BUILDING A NEW SPACE FOR DREAMS
And just like that, the transformation began. The same walls that once stood guard against hidden threats were swept clean. Bookshelves rose where dusty files once gathered cobwebs. Students were invited to do the honours at the library’s formal inauguration: a thoughtful gesture to make them feel that this space belonged to them and to them alone.
Today, the ‘Police Library’ is a growing hub of quiet focus and shared purpose. Nearly 350 books line its shelves – study materials covering everything from Group-I exams to general knowledge and current affairs. Many of these books came at discounted rates from publishers. Some arrived through simple acts of kindness, donated by strangers who believed in the idea.
Fans hum overhead. Tables and chairs line the reading hall on the first floor, which comes with an attached toilet for convenience, an essential detail for students who spend long hours here. Clean drinking water is always available. On the ground floor, three rooms wait patiently for the day they’ll be needed too.
A PLAN FOR MORE
But for Chittarajan, this is just the beginning. He is already in talks with coaching centres in Hyderabad’s famous Ashoknagar area, hoping to bring recorded lectures straight to Tiryani. Soon, a television set in the library will screen these sessions for aspirants who otherwise would have had to leave home and spend thousands to access them.
What was once a silent, decaying building now buzzes with whispered discussions, turned pages, and the soft scratch of pens. A place that once carried the memory of a hidden mine has turned into a mindfield instead, a quiet yard where young people shape big ideas for their future.
A SPARK THAT LIT UP MANY MINDS
Hailing from Hyderabad himself, Chittarajan knows how powerful the right resources can be at the right time. By giving local youth a library in their own backyard, he has done more than open a room full of books; he has made staying back home an option for those who once felt they had no choice but to leave.
From minefield to mindfield, sometimes all it takes is a curious question, a forgotten file, and an officer willing to listen to young voices playing volleyball on a sunny afternoon.
And sometimes, that’s enough to change an entire building’s story.
