Persons with criminal history are finding the hotels and lodges with poor surveillance mechanism a perfect den to carry out their nefarious activities, observe the police.
Hired killers, ganja smugglers and other anti-social elements are checking into such lodges and walking out after committing crimes, they say.
“The criminal gangs are selecting the hotels and lodges that have no vigil in the rural areas to meet their accomplices, and execute their plans,” according to an investigation officer.
A month ago, the NTR District Police had arrested Akbar Basha, a notorious ganja peddler allegedly involved in 35 cases, and who had been on the run for the last two years.
The Patamata police had raided a lodge and arrested Basha, said West Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police P. Bhaskar Rao.
On July 20, two youths had allegedly taken a Class 9 girl to a lodge at Vuyyuru in Krishna district, and raped her. Later, she was found dead under suspicious circumstances. The police had arrested four persons in the case, including the lodge owner.
In view of such incidents, Director General of Police K.V. Rajendranath Reddy has directed the Deputy Inspector Generals of Police (DIGs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) to hold meetings with the lodge and hotel owners and ensure strict implementation of the Public Safety Act, 1978.
“Instructions have been given to the police to visit hotels, conduct meetings with the owners and ask them to share information to the police to check crimes,” G. V. G. Ashok Kumar, Eluru Range DIG, told The Hindu on August 3 (Thursday).
“The lodge and hotel owners are mandated to gather information such as Aadhaar number, phone number, and address from the guests checking into their premises. CCTVs have to be installed to cover the vicinity of the hotel / lodge, main entrance, and corridors, and the recordings have to be stored for a month,” the DIG said.
“We have arrested R. Sitaramaiah, the owner of the Ramachandra Lodge at Vuyyuru, in the sexual assault case. The lodge management had allotted the room to the accused in the case for a few hours,” the DIG said.
Stern action would be taken against those who fail to implement the Act, he warned.
