House owners directed to provide info about tenants

Chennai: As part of efforts to prevent anti-social and anti-national activities, city police on Thursday promulgated an order directing house owners in Greater Chennai to furnish details of their tenants to the jurisdictional police stations. The order under section 144 of CrPC would be in force for a period of 60 days from today unless withdrawn earlier, Commissioner of Police S George said in a release tonight. As per the order, house owners should submit the prescribed form with details of tenants including photograph and mobile phone number. It said there were specific intelligence inputs on extremist and anti-national elements surveying potential targets in Chennai city with a view to carrying out sabotage activities. Citing such incidents of sabotage in major cities in neighbouring states, it said in most such activities, the perpetrators of the offence had taken shelter in rented premises under the guise of tenants. Making it clear that the order did not intend to regulate or interfere in the contractual agreements between the landlord and the tenant, it said the objective was to aid the police in tracking suspects and preventing them from indulging in anti-social and anti-national activities prejudicial to public order using residential premises as hide outs. The information sought was similar to personal data available in identity cards, the order said, warning that anyone violating the directive deliberately shall be prosecuted under relevant sections of the IPC.