Rules made stricter for PG, homestays under Mangaluru Police Commissionerate

Mangaluru: The office of the City Police Commissioner issued an order on Friday tightening the rules related to paying guest (PG) accommodations, hostel, homestay, service apartments, and other similar establishments operating within the commissioner.

All PG accommodations must obtain a police clearance certificate from the police station of the area.

According to the order, owners/partners of hostels, homestays, paying guests, service apartments, guest houses for commercial purposes, residential houses run by educational institutions, and management bodies must obtain permission from the concerned departments.

The owner’s name, address, telephone number, identity card, and register book of the organization should be compulsorily submitted to the police commissioner’s office every year. It should also be filed at the local police station.

In case the tenants are foreigners, their identity documents, including visa and passport details must be submitted within 24 hours of their arrival at the nearest police station. Police should be informed when they vacate the premises, the order added.

Further, the order directed the lodging facilities to install sufficient surveillance cameras. Good-quality CCTV cameras should be installed. One of them should face the main entrance/road. The video footage of the security cameras should be stored for at least 30 days, and information should be provided when requested by the police station, the order said.

Moreover, the management should take action to prevent any illegal activities including crimes, drug peddling, and other immoral activities.

The police commissioner’s order said that the concerned should take responsibility for the safety and security of the students and submit an undertaking to this effect at the local police station and strictly follow their instructions.

Following the issuance of the order, Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that the rules have been tightened in view of the recent Mangaluru Bomb blast case as well as to prevent illegal/immoral activities from taking place.

The blast suspect, Mohammed Shariq had been staying with a fake identity at Mysuru. Following the finding, the rules in Mysuru have been tightened. “Similarly, I have issued a similar order for Mangaluru,” he said.