The post of Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad City has its roots in
Hyderabad State during the Nizam period. Called
Kotwal-e-Balda or
Kotwal for short, the Commissioner of police was appointed by the
Nizam of Hyderabad. Apart from holding the powers and privileges as the head of police, he also enjoyed certain judicial and civil powers. He was the chief adviser to the Nizam on all police matters and was part of his durbar. Most of the
Kotwals were nobles. The first Hindu kotwal was
Raja Bahadur Venkat Rama Reddy, who served as the Commissioner during mf the reign of
Mir Osman Ali Khan Nizam VII. ==List of Commissioners==