As the sun rises on the horizon across the Bay of Bengal, morning joggers and strollers on the Marina, the world’s second longest beach, hear the galloping of horses, with men and women in khaki and wearing pith hats mounted on them and maintaining vigil. The scene repeats in the evening with the contingent majestically marching on horses from Pudupet, off Anna Salai, to the beach front.
The Mounted Police Branch has remained an inseparable part of the Chennai police since 1926 when the contingent was formed under a sergeant with horses for patrolling all over the city. With the arrival of patrol vehicles, the strength of the horses diminished. The Mounted Branch still functions out of an 18 th century building at Pudupet. It was originally an all-male contingent, but now has five women and 27 men.
The horses are thoroughbreds donated by either breeders or members of the Madras Race Club or procured by the police.
