The J&K police on Sunday decided to “rectify format of tenant verification” in Jammu after local Muslims raised an alarm over details of the Global Positioning System (GPS) location, pictures of houses and details and the mobile numbers of every family member of the house owners sought.
“The format of the verification of tenants has been taken note of. It is asking more than what is required. The Senior SP has been asked to rectify it. It is primarily meant for tenant verification,” IGP Mukesh Singh said.
The verification forms were distributed in the past two days in Muslim-majority areas of Gujjar Nagar, Sunjwan and Bathindi.
“The forms have induced anxiety among the locals. The form is seeking details which are unheard of. It seeks pictures of the owner of a house, family members and age. Beside asking for mobile numbers, it seeks information on how old the construction is and the place of migration,” Jammu’s prominent advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed said.
He said the form seeks even details of vehicles owned and their numbers. “The surveyors are taking photos of the house and seeking details of GPS location. To establish identity, it seeks papers of the driving licence, PAN card, Aadhaar, voter card etc. from the house owners, he said.
He said people are ready to share the details of the tenants but the details sought of the family and the property only “violate the right to privacy, upheld by the Supreme Court”.
“Who will give us the guarantee that these details will remain within the four walls of the police stations? It contains the details of our sisters and mothers,” he said.
IGP Singh, however, said the tenant verification “is for the entire district of Jammu” and will be extended to other areas soon.
“I assure people that we care for their security and safety and will take every step to ensure they are safe,” he said.
