In the light of the pro-IS tweeter Mehdi Masroor Biswas’s arrest in the city, law enforcers are planning to advise landlords to get police verification of their tenants done and companies to do background verification of their employees.
However, the police are sceptical of how much this would help in dealing with crimes. In the case of Biswas, his landlord had collected all his contact details before giving him a flat on rent. Biswas had reportedly produced his PAN card to the landlord as identity proof. The police said lack of previous criminal record, as in the Biswas case, would make it difficult to track a person’s activities.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Alok Kumar said while background check would help, it was not the only solution to keep persons with criminal antecedents at bay. “Many cases that we come across do not have previous criminal records. Companies and landlords need to have an internal mechanism to tackle such cases,” he said.
Mr. Kumar added that several companies had an in-house mechanism to keep tabs on their employees’ browsing pattern. “But the employees can still access the Net at home and be involved in such [criminal] activities,” he said.
Rajesh S., who has given five houses on rent in Vasanthnagar, said it was a “tricky” situation for landlords. “Even the police verification is not foolproof. How can landlords keep tabs on their tenants,” he sought to know.
Meanwhile, H.S. Hariprasad, son of the owner of Block A of the Jalahalli apartment complex from where Biswas was arrested, said the footage from two CCTV cameras in the complex had been given to the police.
