A mammoth, majestic brass bell is struck loud and clear to mark every passing hour at the Core of Detectives (CoD) office at Seshadripuram. The only other office in the City where this old-world custom is observed is the Home Guards, Civil Defence and Fire Services office located across the Ulsoor lake.

The Director General of Police, CoD, Training, Special Units and Economic Offences, Dr Ajai Kumar Singh was instrumental in introducing this novel practice at both the places. The 24-spoked of a three-legged stand which is encircled by a chain. The bell is suspended from a giant hook installed on top. The stand is encircled by a chain.
The 24-spoked Ashoka Chakra emblem is at the head and below it are four such chakras with the image of a bull, elephant, horse and lion found on them.

Dr Singh told Metrolife, “I am not aware of much of its background but just saw it lying unused in our store and decided to put it to good use. One does not keep looking at the watch to mark every passing hour and I just wanted the staff to keep tab on the passage of time throughout the day.”

The person manning the reception at these centres physically strikes the bell to mark the passage of every single hour from 9 a m to 7 p m. Ten strokes of the bell mark 10 o’ clock, eleven strokes will mark 11 o’ clock and so on. The gong can be clearly heard even on holidays.

IGP (Homeguards) Khalil Rahman says,  “This bell installed a year ago helps in keeping track of passing hours. It largely serves a decorative and ceremonial purpose. It cannot be seen in any other office in the City barring these two places.”