House owners of Ranchi seem to have not learnt their lessons even after several instances where criminals, extremists and terrorists were found operating in the city from rented accommodations under bogus identities.
Despite its potential to aid police forces, tenant verification still remains a forgotten concept in the State capital where hostels and lodges have sprung up like mushrooms to cater to the hordes of students and growing working class making a beeline to Ranchi, attracted by the educational institutes and career options the city has to offer.
lodge and hostel owners usually demand basic identification from their tenants before renting them rooms but the organised verification system is rarely used. “Rooms are given on rent only after receiving identifying documentation,” stated a lodge owner from Purulia Road, but said nothing on furnishing the same to the local police station.
Ranchi Municipal Corporation has completed the second phase of registration of hostels and lodges in the city, authorising a total of 582 hostels and 429 lodges in their records on the basis of an assortment of regulations. However, tenant verification was not one of the guidelines.
“We do not concern ourselves with tenant verification as the process is undertaken by District Police. But to ensure security in the lodges and hostels, it has been stipulated that they will be registered only when they have CCTV cameras monitoring their buildings,” informed Assistant Municipal Commissioner Bidya Nand Sharma Pankaj.
On Friday, Ranchi police had arrested nine motorcycle thieves along with their handlers who were residing in rented rooms near Daladali Chowk for accommodation and hiding their haul of 15 stolen vehicles. They have been living there under the guise of labourers.
Back in 2013, the explosions in pre-election rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gandhi Maidan in Patna were found to be planned and carried out by Indian Mujahideen terrorist Muzibullah Ansari from a lodge at Hindpiri who had introduced himself as a civil services aspirant.
“Advisories have been issued in the past strictly instructing house owners to have their prospective tenants verified through local police stations before giving them rooms or houses on rent. Hostels and lodges are searched from time to time to find out any suspicious individuals living there. Checking households is a difficult task owning to their vast numbers,” stated Superintendent of Police (City) Kishore Kaushal.
The police stations have been instructed to regularly conduct inspections in their jurisdictions for tenant verifications, he added.
“We remain in constant touch with local communities who inform us about any dubious characters they discover. Action has been taken on such reports and we have uncovered some wanted criminals this way. In coming days, more focus will be laid on tenant verification,” further added the City SP.