Since the past week, real estate agents across the city have been receiving calls from their local police stations, asking them to maintain registers with details of all the leave and licence agreements that are facilitated by them
First it was the police, who were keeping tabs on real estate brokers, now landlords have followed suit in efforts to secure the city from the threat of terror.
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After investigations revealed details of 26/11 conspirator David Headley’s stay in Mumbai, the police started to wield an iron fist over landlords, asking each of them to inform the police, and supply details of each new tenant.
Realty watch: Cops asked the agents to maintain details of all the leave and licence agreements that are signed with their involvement, and to keep them ready for inspections by the police. Representation Pic
In an effort to supplement the process, cops have now started calling brokers to police stations to issue the fresh diktat that they keep police in the loop regarding details of every deal they seal. According to real estate sources, the Tardeo police summoned around 50 brokers from in and around the area last week.
One broker, who visited the police station two days ago, revealed that he got a call from a local police officer asking him to report to the station immediately. Checking with other brokers, he realised that many of them had already made trips to the station.
“I was told by the police to maintain a register of all the deals that I strike, especially for leave and licence. They told me there were several police officers at the station who were assigned the task of keeping track of such matters. They informed me that any officer could visit our offices and check the register, and so we should maintain the register properly,” said the broker who didn’t wish to be named.
Yashwant Dalal, president of the Real Estate Agents Association of India, claimed that this is not the first time that the police have summoned brokers.
“Whatever the police is doing is correct and we will cooperate with them fully. We have asked all the brokers on our list to maintain such lists. This will benefit the brokers as well, as they will also be safe in case of any untoward incidents in future. If the police are informed in advance about deals, they will thoroughly check the backgrounds of suspicious people. This will also prevent brokers from dealing with people who could later land them in trouble,” said Dalal.
Meanwhile, a few brokers were worried by the sudden phone calls from the police stations. Most of the brokers were asked for their licences and other documents to prove that they were authorised to operate and collect brokerage.
“We realised what the police was asking us to do and have decided to follow the rules that they have set; the only fear is for people who didn’t possess any licence or documents to prove their work is legal,” said another broker.
Senior Police Inspector Ajayendra Thakur of Tardeo police station said, “We are trying to implement the order issued by the Commissioner of Police. Considering the threat perception to the city from foreigners and anti-social elements, we have called all the brokers from our area and informed them to follow the requisite procedure.”u00a0
50u00a0The approximate numberu00a0of brokers who have been called from and around Tardeo last weeku00a0
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