Tenant verification: Cops await collector order

Pune rural police have not been able to conduct a drive against house-owners not submitting details of tenants to police stations. The reason cited was that despite repeated requests by the Pune rural police,the district collectorate has not yet passed an order under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code,making it mandatory for house-owners to submit details of tenants to police.

SP Pratap Dighavkar said,“I don’t have the powers to pass this order. I have written to the district collector,who has got the powers to issue the order under section 144 of the CrPC. I had written to the collector three months back. Also,a day before the ATS arrested the Naxals,I had written to the district collector office again. We hope the order is passed soon so that we can lodge offences against house-owners and labour contractors under section 188 of IPC,for not provding information on tenants and labourers.”

When contacted,district collector Vikas Deshmukh said he held discussion on the issue with Dighavkar. “We are checking legalities of how such an order under section 144 of the CrPC can be issued to individuals. We are considering the matter seriously. The order will be issued as soon as legalities are understood,” he said.

The 10 held from Shirur had been living on rent. Sushma Ramteke,arrested from Pirangut,lived in a rented room with Angelo Sontakke,the alleged secretary of Golden Corridor Committee of the CPI(Maoist). A Bangladeshi national,Milon Niranjan Mistry (24),arrested by the Anti Terrorist Cell of Pune city police from Narayangaon in February,had also been staying in a rented house.