A bird’s eye view of an area in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 1: To crack the whip on criminal incidents in the city, the twin city police have decided to maintain a database of people living in rented houses.

New commissioner of police R.P. Sharma today announced that house owners would be asked to furnish photographs and other details of their tenants at the local police stations. The exercise would begin on a pilot basis from Salia Sahi, the biggest slum in the city, where a minor girl was raped and murdered last month.

The decision was taken following a public-police interface in Salia Sahi today. The idea struck the police after the owner of a house in Chintamaniswar area of the city failed to give them details of his tenants involved in the murder of a 22-year-old MPharm student on August 19.

The city has been witnessing a number of criminal incidents perpetrated by goons living in rented houses. In September last year, an elderly couple were murdered by their tenants in Acharya Vihar.

“This will deter criminals and they will be wary of taking shelter in the city to commit crimes. Our drive will start from Salia Sahi on a pilot basis as most of the people living in this slum are outsiders,” said Sharma. Sources said that Gurgaon and Chennai police have already started the process of keeping a database of tenants.

With rise in population, the city has witnessed a spurt in crime in the recent past. A large chunk of the floating population consists mainly of migrant labourers and students, who come here from other states. The government so far has no database on this section of the population. Besides, Bhubaneswar, which is one among the fastest growing two-tier cities of the country, offers a lot of anonymity to the migrants.

According to government statistics, the state capital recorded 46 murder cases in 2012, which was 16 more than the number of such cases 2009. The number of rape cases has also increased with 56 cases registered in 2012 against 32 in 2009. Police officials said most of the criminals operating in the city prefer to stay in slums such as Salia Sahi in rented houses. “Steps would also be taken to check the flow of illegal arms into the twin cities. Special squads and quick response teams would be set up to prevent crimes in the city,” Sharma said.