Police Commissioner S. George has invoked provisions under Section 144 of the CrPC to order landlords/house owners/lessors to furnish particulars of their tenants in the prescribed format to the jurisdiction police station within 15 days.
A press release said the objective of the order that came into effect on Thursday was to aid police in tracking suspects and preventing them from indulging in crimes and using residential premises as hideouts.
The order made it clear that the landlords were free to choose their tenants, and there was no need to get prior police permission.
The police shall not interfere with the contractual agreement, and the order would in no way affect the interests of the bona fide landlords/tenants. Any person contravening the order deliberately would be prosecuted as per law. The exercise followed specific intelligence inputs on extremist elements surveying potential targets in Chennai and anti-social elements occupying residential premises in the guise of tenants.
