Tenant details back under the scanner

Petlee Peter

In an attempt to curb crime and provide security to senior citizens in the city, the city police have revived the tenant information system.

They are now accepting filled-in forms at police stations. Till Thursday, nearly 89,000 tenants in the city had submitted their details through tenant verification/information forms.

The police have revived the initiative as the Madras High Court has lifted the stay on creation of the database.

The police say this measure will help to identify miscreants occupying residential areas under the guise of tenants.

To help residents submit the forms, the police are considering placing a box at police booths throughout the city. At present, residents have to either send a courier addressed to the respective station house officer or furnish the details in person.

Several residents have submitted forms at the nearest police stations. However, they have raised concerns over how such enormous database of personal information will be safeguarded.

Ravindra Gupta, a house owner in MKB Nagar, said: “I submitted forms with proof of identity. The police must provide more options for people who are unable to visit police stations. Acknowledgement receipts must also be provided quicker.”

Senior citizens like Ratna Sivasubramanian of Anna Nagar said they feel secure sharing details with the police. “I shifted from Tuticorin recently. I feel safer with the police knowing my whereabouts,” she said.

Responding to residents’ concerns, police officers said there are plans to monitor the database on tenants through a common server at the police commissionerate.

It may be recalled that the suspects in a daring bank robbery in February 2012 had masqueraded as college students and were living on rented premises in Velachery. The episode ended in a gruesome early morning gun fight in the residential colony, and all suspects were gunned down by the police.

The tenant information system, introduced then, hit a road block after a court stay against the police seeking tenants’ personal details.

Senior city police officers made alterations to the questions in the form and the Madras High Court cleared the revival of the information gathering process by end of 2013, said a senior officer at the commissionerate.

Earlier this month, commissioner S. George had issued a statement requesting landowners to submit details of their tenants. The deadline, which was September 30, has been extended now.

“The data to be furnished is similar to that needed for a mobile phone connection or booking a railway ticket. But house owners can choose their tenants without any permission from the police. There will be no interference in the agreement between the owner and the tenant,” said the officer.

Source: thehindu