Police to launch separate portal to register paying guest accommodations in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Paying guest accommodations in Bengaluru are becoming haven for shady activities at night and this is only increasing by the day. There are about 5,000 PG accommodations in the city, but there are no details about the people who stay in the rooms. To tackle this issue, the police department has come up with a plan.

Silicon City is a hub of education institutions, IT companies, multi-specialty hospitals and others and millions of people move in to the city evey year. But, the police department has found it difficult to get their information and family background, and it is a big challenge for them.

Lately, those who are involved in anti-social activities — history-sheeters, criminals and smugglers — have been found to be taking shelter in PGs. The criminals have found the PGs, hotels and lodges to be a safe place for them to avoid police police detection and they stay there by giving fake ID and address proof.

City Police Commissioner B Dayananda said there are 5,000 PGs in Bengaluru in which approximately 4.5 lakh people are staying. To monitor them, the  Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and police officials have decided to launch a separate web portal for registration of all the PGs in the city, he said.

The PGs should register on the web portal and upload all documents, including CCTV footage, Aadhaar card an identity card (ID card) of guests. This will make it easier to establish the identity of unknown persons or arrest the accused if they are involved in criminal activities, the police commissioner noted.

There are already 147 PGs registered under Marathahalli police station alone, and the all the PG accommodations in Bengaluru will be brought on the portal in phases, he added.