History of the
Punjab Police Academy & Fort  Phillaur

The Phillaur fort is the principal and outstanding land mark of the school and has a fascinating history behind it. Built on one side of the Grand Trunk  Road,  it  has a fascinating  historical back-ground. The  town  of  Phillaur in which  this fort is located owes it origin to a Sanghera Jat, Phul,  who named it after himself as “Phulnagar”. The Naru Rajput of Mau,  a township  nearby, had  cast covetous  eyes  on  Phillaur  and  eventually, under their Chief Rae Shahr, they wrested it from the Jats. Rae Rattan  Pal,  the son of Rae Shahr, liked it so much that he abandoned Mau and settled in Phillaur. The Jats then left the place.

Subsequently, at some period unknown, the  Rajputs also deserted it. Nothing is known thereafter until the reign of the  Mughal  Emperor Shah  Jahan  (1627-1658) when  an  imperial  Sarai  was  built  at  Phillaur. Subsequently, the town was   occupied  by Kattar  Sikhs  and  held  until  Mahraja  Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) seized all  the Kakar Estates. After  the  collapse  of  the Mogul Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent  Dewan Mohkam Chand,about the year 1809, to take possession of the Imperial Serai and converted it into  a formidable Fort with the help of his French or Italian officers, namely Generals Ventura, Allard, and Avitabile. It  was built  in  reply  to  the  British  who  had  built a  small  Fort  at Ludhiana on the  remnants, said to be, of an old Lodhi Fort and to guard  the  ferry of Phillaur. The British occupied this Fort in 1846  after the Sikhs  were  defeated in a battle fought a Aliwal. Phillaur, Thereafter, became  a Cantonment  and  Fort remained under the charge of Army authorities till 1890, when it  was handed over to Civil authorities and has been used thereafter as a Police Training School.

View of Lahori Gate	View of Delhi Gate

The Mazar

The fort enshrines  the mausoleum of a religious saint, fondly remembered as Pir Baba Abdullah Shah Ji, under one of its domes. He made the supreme sacrifice of his life to uphold the human values as per the legend recounted as under:-

The wall of the fort  constructed during day under orders of Maharaja Ranjit Singh would mysteriously  collapse during night thus impeding the work. The Maharaja was advised by religious heads to offer sacrifice of some male person belonging to the priest class who should be the only son of a widow. A Brahmin boy of Phillaur who fulfilled these conditions was brought before Maharaja Ranjit  Singh for time sacrifice, but the wails and lamentations of his mother attracted Pir Abdullah Shah who lived nearby. The Pir offered himself for the sacrifice and petitioned to the Maharaja to accept him as he fulfilled all the conditions. The Maharaja agreed and the boy was released. Pir Abdullah Shah, it is said, was then immured alive in the north eastern walls of the fort and the construction of the fort was completed. The mazar, over the years has been a source of great spiritual inspiration to the police personnel.