Landlords, hostel owners reluctant to share info on tenants, say police

Bhubaneswar: In March 2015, the commissionerate police launched an initiative asking house owners to submit details of tenants at local police stations. In January 2017, it was extended to owners of women’s hostels. But after the initial positive response, compliance has become lax.“We received good response for one or two years. But the receipt of such documents drastically came down. These days, we hardly get one or two tenant declaration forms filled by house owners,” said inspector-in-charge of a police station in the city.Declaration forms are available at police stations and on the website of the commissionerate police (http://bhubaneswarcuttackpolice.gov.in). House and hostel owners can get forms and submit those at police stations with names, occupation, permanent address, identity proofs and photographs of tenants.Police said landlords are reluctant as it is not mandatory for them to share details of tenants. The system is optional though highly necessary for security, said police.The main objective of the initiative is to ensure safety of citizens. “We want to maintain a database of tenants. There were instances in the past when some tenants committed crimes on the property of their landlords. The database of inmates of women’s hostels is necessary to ensure the safety of women,” a senior police officer said. This apart, there is a provision of a tenant verification system where landlords can pay a service fee to the commissionerate police and get the background of tenants checked. Though people can avail the service through Odisha police citizen portal (https://citizenportal-op.gov.in/citizen/login.aspx) or Sahayata app, there are very few takers. “We have received around 10 applications regarding tenant verification in the past six months,” the officer said.Deputy commissioner of police Prateek Singh said he would conduct a review of the system. “We will find out the reasons for non-submission of tenant declaration forms. A large number of people, mostly students and working professionals stay on rent. We urge landlords to comply with the orders and help us keep the city safe,” Singh said.

Bhubaneswar police to check security of apartments, maintain database of inhabitants

The police in Bhubaneswar, India, have launched an initiative called the residential welfare society information management system (RWSIMS) to survey the security arrangements in gated communities. The police will collect information about the apartments, including the number of flats, the inhabitants, and the security systems in place. This initiative aims to strengthen the partnership between the police and residents, enhance surveillance capabilities, and curb illegal activities in apartments. The police also plan to integrate the CCTV cameras of the apartments with their surveillance system.

Madurai city police return recovered mobile phones, gold jewellery to owners

The Madurai city police have returned stolen or missing mobile phones, laptops, two-wheelers, and gold jewelry to their respective owners. A total of 253 mobile phones, four two-wheelers, two laptops, and 279 sovereigns of gold jewelry were recovered. The mobile phones were traced and recovered by the Madurai city cybercrime police, while the gold jewelry was recovered in two major burglary/theft cases. The recovered items were handed over to the owners by the city police commissioner.

Nashik police to ensure peace & calm

Over 2,500 personnel will be deployed by the Nashik city and rural police to ensure a peaceful Ganpati festival. This includes officers from various ranks and additional support from home guards and other police forces. The city police will also implement the use of QR codes at Ganesh mandals for safety monitoring. In other news, two women IPS officers from the Delhi Police have been attached to the CBI for assisting in the investigation of violence cases in Manipur, and the STF has obtained a production warrant for a dismissed inspector involved in a drugs case.