Curation Team
RANCHI: Tenant verification continues to be a neglected practice in the city, with both police and house owners showing little seriousness toward this crucial safety measure. The issue has once again come to the fore after the recent criminal incidents.
In the wake of the incidents, Ranchi (city) SP Ajit Kumar said all police stations in the city have been directed to mandatorily collect details of tenants staying under their police station areas. “We have taken the matter seriously after the two incidents took place in the city in the last few days. We will soon launch awareness drives among the landlords, informing them about the necessity of the process,” Kumar added.
However, when TOI on Friday spoke to officials of five police stations in the city — Lalpur, Hindpiri, Lower Bazar, Bariatu and Chutia — to inquire about the status of the tenant verification process, the responses revealed a shocking picture.
The officials of Lalpur and Lower Bazar police stations said no such verifications are done at the stations. “I joined as the in-charge of the station a month ago. However, during the period, no verification of tenants has been done at the police station,” said the Lower Bazar police station in-charge.
It is worth mentioning that the suspected terrorist Ashraf Danish was arrested from a lodge under the Lower Bazar police station area on Wednesday. On the other hand, Bariatu, Hindpiri and Chutia police station in-charges said that though verifications were done by them, it was very few in number. They blamed the house owners for not submitting rental agreements and background details of their tenants to the police.
“It is the responsibility of the owners to inform the police when a new tenant comes. Police cannot go looking for tenants in every household. Sometimes, owners of big apartments inform us. But when it comes to modest accommodations, the owners neglect this crucial practice,” said Manoj Kumar, Bariatu police station in charge. Following the recent arrest of a suspected terrorist and the busting of a sex trade racket in the city since Sunday, criminals and anti-social elements are seen to be exploiting the loopholes and misusing rented accommodations for wrong activities.
