Calcutta, July 9: The police commissioner of Barrackpore today asked all landlords in the town to submit details of their tenants, the order coming in the wake of reports that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and people from other states suspected to be involved in crimes had rented homes there.

A notification directing residents to disclose the identities of their tenants was issued by police commissioner Tanmay Ray Chaudhuri. It also instructed the 13 police stations under the commissionerate to comply with the order with effect from July 5 for 60 days, after which the situation would be reviewed.

"If a landlord fails to comply with the order and if the tenant is found to be involved in criminal activities, a case will be started against the former under Section 188 of the IPC," a senior commissionerate officer said.

Section 188 states that if a person disobeys an order issued by a public servant, he can be punished with a jail term ranging from three to seven years and fined.

The police have begun circulating among residents a form asking for information on tenants under 24 heads. "Once the information is furnished, we will scrutinise it using our sources," the officer said.

"This order has been issued to check undesired activities of miscreants who often take shelter in houses in the area as tenants," said Ajay Thakur, the deputy commissioner of the Barrackpore commissionerate.