Goa has played a host to dozens of terrorists and anti-social elements over a period of two decades or more. On being caught by central intelligence and investigative agencies, the State faced the bitter truth that these wanted criminals enjoyed its hospitality by misleading their true identity. Successive governments harped on the need for verifying the antecedents of tenants but the law to prosecute irresponsible landlords with stricter punishment drags its feet.
Illegal stay has been a debatable yet neglected part of crime in Goa. Some top agents of the banned organization Popular Front of India (PFI) and Bangladeshi immigrants made Goa their safe hideout until they were identified based on intelligence inputs. This was followed by raids last year.
With the spotlight back on tenant verification, several properties are still illegally rented out to people who lure the house owners with lump sum monthly rent. The formalities to verify tenants are not as rigorous as in other states. Police’s marathon drive takes a long pause until something triggers the security of the State.
Over the years, there's been a significant rise in cases of foreigners violating their visas, tenants illegally residing in Goa and landlords leasing out their premises without following the mandatory procedures. A sudden crackdown is only a temporary solution as the violation comes back to life once the police raids subside.
The Goa (Verification of Tenants)
Bill, 2021 yet to be enforced
A rare situation where the police found themselves in a helpless situation is the absence of proper tenant verification law. In the present case, no FIR can be registered against house owners for not verifying the details of tenants. At the most, on being caught in a special drive or tip-off, the violators can only be booked under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The offence is bailable.
With a sudden spike in heinous crimes last year, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant blamed the non-verification of tenants from police, which encouraged anti-social elements to commit a crime in Goa. As many as 30-40,000 tenants across North and South Goa were thereafter verified, some of whom were found to be living without verifying their antecedents.
But where’s the law to impose a stricter penalty on violators? The State introduced Goa (Verification of Tenants) Bill, 2021, in the Legislative Assembly wherein violators could face up to six-month imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10,000. The Bill was referred to the select committee. There’s no further move.
Many assembly sessions have passed but the government’s assurance to pass the Bill is perhaps not prioritized. A senior officer revealed that till date, they are acting under the prohibitory orders issued by the District Collectors. Ironically, even after police register cases under section 188, the violating landlords are let off the hook for the very reason that there is no complainant. The department claims it cannot take suo motu, but an executive magistrate or his/her subordinate should be the complainant without which no evidence is made out. In absence of the law, the drive has become non-deterrent.
Terrorist Yasin Bhatkal’s Goa
link prompted drive in 2013
From David Headley to Chota Rajan’s gang members Umaid-ur-Rehman and Aasid Jaan Mohammed Shaikh, many terrorists lived in Goa without verification. Ex-CM Manohar Parrikar had agreed that the existing laws need to be amended to strengthen overall security. At his instance, the process to bring a strict law with jail and fine began. He also proposed that renting rooms will only be allowed if there is a toilet and bathroom on the premises and tenant verification is formally carried out.
The then BJP government had even then enhanced tenant verification drive to screen anti-social elements given that it was found that Indian Mujahedeen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal’s stay in Goa in 2012-13 went undetected. He was arrested on the Indo-Nepal border only after which his stay came to light. His recruits also lived illegally, but they had exited Goa before the police could act.
Not terrorists alone, some foreign nationals from Africa, Nigeria, Russia and UK also stay illegally. During an extensive drive after the October 2013 incident at Porvorim, wherein Africans challenged the Goa Police by blocking traffic on the National Highway after their compatriot was killed in a drug-related case, the police booked several cases of overstay
