Resident info collection by DMP challenged

A Supreme Court lawyer yesterday filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking its order on the government to stop collecting information about landlords and tenants by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Jotirmoy Barua in his petition also prayed to the HC to ask the authorities concerned to preserve those information which have already been collected and not to use these collected information until a specific law is formulated to this effect.

The lawyer also requested the court to issue a rule upon the authorities to explain why collection of information about landlords and tenants in DMP area should not be declared illegal.

He said there is no legal basis of collecting such information about tenants from their landlords, terming it a "violation" of rights to privacy.

The information DMP collecting is very much personal and sensitive in nature and could be harmful if it is misused by any unscrupulous persons, he said in the petition.

Law secretary, home secretary, inspector general of police and DMP commissioner have been made respondents to the required rule.

The DMP on February 29 announced that it had been collecting “identification information” on landlords and tenants since November last year and asked all to provide the information by March 15.

It is part of an effort to create a central database of city dwellers and their service staff and the move is intended to curb crime and create a “sustainable security measure,” said DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre recently.