Cops’ eye on outhouses

Suspecting foul play in the numerous outhouses of bungalows dotting posh areas like Northern Town and Nildih in the steel city, the police are compiling a database of tenants occupying them.

A police source said they have received information that the outhouses were being used for illegal activities.

“We have information that there are several tenants who reside in outhouses in posh areas. Some of them indulge in illegal activities, including prostitution, gambling and drug trafficking,” said a senior police officer.

The database was a step towards curbing criminal activities in the city, he added.

Once the database is ready, the police would be in a better position to trace criminals after incidents such as abduction, contract killing or robbery take place.

Confirming that the police would be keeping a tab on the outhouses’ tenants, superintendent of police (East Singhbhum) Naveen Kumar Singh said: “We are working on the modalities of the exercise. Once we are through with them, we’ll start executing the idea in right earnest. There would be a perceivable change in the criminal activities in the city once this plan is executed.”

The database would have the name, age, professions and sources of income of the tenants, said the district police chief. Landlords or owners of the houses or bungalows concerned would be required to inform the nearest police station about their outhouse tenants. “It will be mandatory for the bungalow owners to keep the police informed about their tenants and helps (servants),” Singh said.

However, the bungalow owners would not be required to seek a clearance from the police before leasing out their premises, he clarified.

“Initially, I am focussing on the people living in the outhouses. Later attention would be shifted to bachelor tenants,” he added.

Several outhouses of sprawling bungalows at Nildih, Kadma and other places have been turned into dens of gambling and sex rackets. As the owners of the bungalows don’t pay any attention to the activities of their tenants, such activities seldom come to the fore. Law-enforcing agencies, too, hardly focus on such tenants.

Significantly, apart from letting out their premises on rent, bungalow owners at Circuit House and at Jubilee Road allow their servants to use a portion of their outhouses. In such cases, rent is not charged from them and their activities are seldom monitored.

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