The fringes of the state capital have become safe haven for outlaws, courtesy easy accommodations available on rent without paperwork and police verification.
The dangerous trend of residents in Nagri, Dhurwa, Namkum, Tupudana, Kanke, Ratu, Jagannathpur and Pandra, among others, not even seeking ID proofs from their tenants came to light during recent investigations into the murder of a car sales executive.
Four of the five shooters hired by a Palamau gangster to kill 26-year-old Rakesh Kumar, allegedly for taking a romantic interest in his sister, had rented a house in Daladali under Nagri thana.
“The quartet fled after the youth was shot dead near his home in Sukhdeonagar on August 24. The Daladali landlord, Kalicharan, hadn’t even sought their identity proofs,” SSP Anish Gupta said, adding that he had directed all police stations to expedite the process of tenant verification.
In the first week of September, Ranchi police had nabbed 10 history-sheeters from Daladali. Sophisticated weapons like AK-47 and live magazines were found on them. “They too were living in a rented house for four months,” the SSP said.
In July 2017, land broker Rajesh Tirkey was gunned down in Tupudana. One of the shooters, Pappu, a native of Khunti, was arrested from a rented house in Hatia in February. A wanted criminal of Jehanabad district was also arrested from a rented house in Dhurwa by Bihar police in August.
In the Rakesh Kumar murder case, the fifth shooter — identified as Himanshu Dubey — had rented a room in the same house as the victim. He introduced himself as Subodh Kumar and produced a fake Aadhaar card. He claimed he was preparing for his engineering exams while in reality, he was keeping tabs on Rakesh.
“This is why a two-tier tenant verification — by the landlord and police — is imperative, particularly in new settlements. Most of these criminals hail from outside Ranchi. They are from districts like Gumla, Latehar, Palamau and Garhwa. In the Rakesh case, two of the shooters were from UP. Some of them are actively associated with Naxalite outfits,” the senior officer said.
Gupta said tenant verification forms had been made available to all police stations on the outskirts of Ranchi. “The order is applicable to urban thanas as well. I have categorically asked Sukhdeonagar police station to verify all tenants under its jurisdiction,” he added.
Nagri thana OC Ram Narayan Singh said they had already launched a verification drive. “We are compiling details of both landlords and tenants. They have been asked to submit details, including photographs and ID proof, at the thana. The drive will be intensified in days to come,” Singh promised.