District administration Srinagar directs landlords to furnish details of tenants

SRINAGAR — In a significant move, the district administration Srinagar on Wednesday directed landlords to submit details of their tenants within 10 days to the concerned police station.

An order issued by Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Aijaz Assad, as per the news agency KNO, directs house owners to furnish details of tenants to police within a period of 10 days.

“All building owners shall after the issuance of this order and within ten days of letting/subletting/renting out his/her house or part thereof to any tenant(s), submit without fail the detailed particulars of the tenant(s) to be signed by both the owner and the tenant(s) to the concerned Police Station, either in person or by registered post addressed to the concerned Station House Officer,” reads the order.

Those who have already rented out their house(s) prior to issuance of this order, shall within 10 days submit the detailed particulars of the tenants to the concerned police station, the order states.

“All arrangements of letting or subletting the property like ‘paying guest’ tenants etc., shall be covered by this order,” the order further adds.

The order comes after SSP Srinagar Rakesh Balwal wrote to DC Srinagar that “there is an imminent need to conduct verification of tenants staying in rented accommodations in various parts of the city as there have been instances of social crimes and illicit activities.”

The police probe into several social crimes found that the persons involved were staying as tenants in Srinagar city.

The DC has also directed that every SHO in Srinagar district shall maintain a separate register for such purpose. “This order shall come into force with immediate effect and it shall remain in force for a period of 60 days, unless withdrawn earlier,” the order states.

The government has said that violation of the order would attract action under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “Any violation of this order shall invite punitive action under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and other relevant sections of the CrPC. Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar will implement the order,” the DC’s directive states.

It is pertinent to mention that a prostitution racket run from a rented accommodation at Bagh-e-Mehtab was busted by J&K Police on Tuesday. The owner of the house was also booked under Section 3 of Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act 1956 (ITPA).