DNA: Mumbai: Sunday, September 10, 2017.
Mumbai Police
department has failed in executing their own order, requiring it to be
mandatory for house owners to inform the local police station before selling or
renting out property, and also to submit documents of the persons occupying the
property in order to keep a watch on antisocial elements. The information
acquired under Right To Information (RTI) Act provides a grim picture of the
situation in the Western suburbs' two important police stations near both
airports failing to keep a record of tenants living in the slums.
As per
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 60 per cent of Mumbai's population
lives in slums. But in a shocking reply to the RTI query, the Airport police
station, which has a major slum area near the high-security zone domestic
airport, claims that since January 1, 2016, only 135 houses have been given on
rent from which only 21 persons have managed to submit the agreement copies and
detail of the house occupants. No action has been taken against persons for not
informing police about the tenants, which leads to action under section
188(Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian
Penal Code. Under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code, Mumbai police have
issued the order.
At Sahar
police station, another one in the high-security zone of the International
Airport, registered only 48 tenants in 2016 and 46 in 2017. Only one offence
under section 188 has been registered by Sahar police.
"It is
shocking to see that two important installations of the city with high
security, surrounded by slums, have not had the police order being executed. It
is an alarming situation. Antisocial elements or terrorists can get a house
here without any hassle and indulge in anti-national activities," said
Sagar Ugle, a social activist who acquired the information through RTI.
Moreover, six
police stations Vakola, Versova, Oshiwara, Juhu, Santacruz and Amboli, in reply
to the RTI query, revealed that they do not have a record of tenants living in
slums, and they only take applications. Only Santacruz and Juhu police stations
registered a case against violators. Santacruz police registered four cases
while Juhu registered five.
"We do
not understand why Mumbai police is not taking this issue seriously or is
waiting for an untoward incident to take place. The slums have been converted
into den for illegal activity. And with a majority of the population being
migrants, it becomes a major issue to keep a watch on their activities as they
get away with crimes without being traced," said Ugle.
Santosh
Gholap, a RTI activist and a Vile Parle resident, said, "Slums are growing
in Mumbai and people are renting them out to migrant workers without notifying
police authorities. Mumbai police itself is unaware of illegal activities
conducted inside the slums. It's high time a strict rule be implemented and a
law enforced to ensure safety and security in the city."
YP Singh,
former IPS officer, said, "Mumbai police should stop taking temporary
decisions by making registeration of tenants mandatory for two months and then
renewing it again. Due to lack of police officers in the department, it is
difficult to implement these measures. The government should ensure adequate
staff is provided for registering the tenants in the city which is very
important security measure."
Anil
Kumbhare, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 8, said, "We conduct combing
operations and ensure regular patrolling takes place inside the slums. We
monitor every activity in the slum near both the airports."
Sanjay
Saxena, Joint Commissioner of Police, (Crime), said, "We are monitoring
the slums in the city and it is a very confidential subject."
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