Early morning police crackdown on PGs in city

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 20

To keep an eye on anti-social elements and prevent any untoward incident during the ongoing high alert in the state, the Bathinda police on Tuesday started a special drive to check security measures at paying guest (PG) accommodations across the city.

Police officials examined the documents, identity cards and credentials of the residents in some houses. The exercise lasted for around two hours. The PG owners were told to furnish all details of their tenants.

A police team compromising of around 600 police personnel, headed by two SP-rank officials, seven DSP and all SHOs of the district, took part in the crackdown on the PG accommodations.

Sources claimed many tenants and paying guests in Bathinda were allegedly living without police verification and various associations had raised the issue in the past. Earlier, it had come to the notice that various gangsters and criminals were staying here without police verification. Even noted gangster Gurshaheed Singh Shera, who was killed in a police encounter, was residing at a rented accommodation in the city by faking his identity.

It is pertinent to mention that the city is known as the education hub of the Malwa region and over the years it has seen a sharp increase in the paying guest (PG) culture. Year after year, the number of students flocking to the city to get admissions to local institutes has been increasing manifolds.

In the past decade, many educational institutions, coaching centres and IELTS institutes have come up in city, resulting in the mushrooming of the PG culture.

However, the business is mostly unorganised as only a few PGs have registered themselves. While city residents are cashing in on the opportunity by providing PG facilities in their houses, the Municipal Corporation Bathinda has failed to keep any record of the number of PG accommodations in their jurisdiction.

A senior police official said, “The raids are just routine checks aimed at ensuring the safety of residents. These are only preventive measures to ensure that all proper checks are being conducted by PG owners and documents are being duly checked before admitting people as tenants.”

Two rounded up on suspicion

The police rounded up two suspects in surprise checks at PG accommodations on Tuesday morning. Rooms and cupboards at PGs were also searched. However, no objectionable material was recovered. The house or PG owners were told to submit every detail about their tenants. Bathinda SSP Dr Nanak Singh said the police had rounded up two persons from PGs, but it had nothing to do with the Amritsar blast case. They had been detained as they were staying in PGs illegally and the police were questioning them and inquiring about their background. Later, both the suspects were released by the police.