GANGTOK, : The compulsory police verification of tenants and domestic helps
in Sikkim has been exempted for local residents possessing any one of the five identity
documents.
These
documents are Sikkim Subject Certificate, Certificate of Identification, land
parcha in Sikkim, Residential Certificate or voter identity card in Sikkim.
If
you have any of these documents identifying you as a local resident then there
is absolutely no need for you to visit the police station for your character
antecedent verification, said Sikkim Police DGP Akshay Sachdeva in a press
conference here on Tuesday.
Also
removed is the requirement to take out a SBS Bank Receipt for the police
verification fee for the locals.
An
individual with these local documents can stay as tenants or work anywhere in
Sikkim without being asked to undergo police verification, clarified the Sikkim
Police.
So
who needs to visit the police station for a background check of their
antecedents?
Police
verification is mandatory for tenants and domestic helps who have come from
outside the State, which also requires one to pay the necessary fee through the
SBS bank receipt.
This
comes under the revised rules under Sikkim Tenant and Domestic and Professional
Helps (Compulsory Verification) Act 2008.
Anyone
who does not possess the above mentioned five identity documents, and are
staying and working in Sikkim have to undergo compulsory police verification,
informed the DGP.
It
is here where the house owner, being a local, has to come forward and visit the
concerned police station for one timeto introduce his non-local tenants or
domestic helps to the police. If the house owner is out of State, he or she can
depute a representative in writing for this introductory process.
Sachdeva
stressed the house owner needs to visit the police station for only one time
with the purpose of introducing the tenants or domestic helps to the police and
set into motion their verification process.
“After
this, the house owner is not required to visit the police station. Sikkim
police will take the documents of the tenants and domestic helps, register
them, and then follow it up the concerned police stations of the States from
where they have come to verify their antecedents. We request the house owners
having non-local tenants to make this one-time visit to the police station…it
is also their duty as a citizen since this verification step is undertaken for
their protection,” he said.
Given
the increasing public crowd at police stations for verification purposes, the
DGP informed that the verification process would also be undertaken at the
police outposts (OPs) from February 15 onwards.
People
can apply for police verification at their nearest OP from February 15 onwards,
said Sachdeva. He added that thoughthere is no fixed date to apply for police
verification as it is a continuous process, people are requested to extend
support by initiating the required steps expeditiously from their end.
“This
police verification is not intended to harass anyone or put pressure on the
people. As mandated under the Act, the government intends to protect the local
interests, protect a border State and work for national security,” asserted the
DGP. He informed that Chief Minister PS Golay has directed the State
administration and police to make the verification drive more local-friendly
and avoid inconvenience to the locals.
Sachdeva
explained that influx has increased in Sikkim with more and more people coming
and staying in Sikkim from outside the State, making the
police verification a must for protection of local interests.
Certain
criminal cases here has seen involvement of outsiders while police have no
database as there are no antecedents of outsiders coming and staying in Sikkim,
it was informed.
The government wants to protect the locals’ interest and ensure their security while maintaining Sikkim’s peaceful image, and accordingly, the new steps were taken as per the 2008 Act with certain amendments…it will help to create a proper database, said the DGP.
Police verification of tenants & domestic helps in Sikkim
Exempted: Those having Sikkim Subject Certificate, Certificate of Identification, Residential Certificate, Sikkim land parcha or voter card identity in Sikkim
Mandatory For: Those not having any of the above five identity documents, and are staying as tenants or working in Sikkim.
House Owner’s Responsibility: Make a one-time visit to the concerned police station or OP with his non-local tenants / domestic help, introduce them and have them submit their documents to the police.
And Then: Police will record their documents and verify the documents submitted with their counterparts in the States from where the tenants / domestic help claim to be residents of.
Pic:
Sikkim Police DGP Akshay Sachdeva and senior officers at the press meet. SE Pic
