Gurugram: Two men were arrested for allegedly forcibly demanding rent from their tenants during the lockdown in two separate instances in the Sector 53 area on Wednesday. Both the complaints were lodged by migrant workers. The police said the accused were arrested and later released on bail.
Both Haryana government and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram(MCG) have issued directions stating that landlords in the city should not demand house rent for one month from migrant workers, students and paramedics. In an order issued earlier this month, the authorities had stated that if any landlord was found forcing his tenants to vacate, he would be liable for strict criminal action.
The police said on Wednesday, Gulshan Kumar, a daily wage labourer from Bihar, who stays in a slum in Saraswati Kunj, Sector 53, filed a complaint, alleging that his landlord had been demanding a rent of ₹2,100 for a month and was threatening to evict his family on non-payment.
In the second case, Panchu Buiya, a labourer from South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, who stays in Saraswati Kunj near a petrol pump, said that his landlord had forcibly recovered ₹3,100 rent from him for one month.
A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said, “The labourers alleged that despite their requests that they did not have any money after losing work during the lockdown, their landlords had been demanding rent and threatening eviction. As per the directions of the authorities, the accused men were arrested and two separate FIRs were lodged against them.”
{{/usCountry}}A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said, “The labourers alleged that despite their requests that they did not have any money after losing work during the lockdown, their landlords had been demanding rent and threatening eviction. As per the directions of the authorities, the accused men were arrested and two separate FIRs were lodged against them.”
{{/usCountry}}The accused men were booked under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 384 (punishment for extortion) of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) at the sector 53 police station, said the police.