Berhampur: House Owner Arrested for Forcefully Evicting and Burning Documents, Belongings of Tenant

Berhampur: A house owner and her daughter were arrested by Berhampur Police for allegedly forcefully evicting a tenant and burning his documents and belongings.

The tenant Aswini Kumar Samantasinghar, who is from Puri district, had made a rent agreement for 11 months with house owner Jyotirani Sahu to stay her house at Niranjan Nagar area in Khodasingh, Berhampur.

The rent agreement was made on May 5, 2024. The advance amount was Rs.12,000 for three months and fixed monthly rent of Rs.4000.

Samantasinghar continued to stay in the rented house till date, but meantime due to scarcity of money he failed to pay the monthly rent for two months and in this regard he requested the house owner Jyotirani Sahu regarding his difficulties and assured to pay the amount in the next morning, but the house owner did not listen his grievance and directed to vacate the house.

As the house owner directed to vacate the house he requested the house owner to deduct the advance money and refund the remaining one month advance money so that he will vacate the house as soon as possible. But instead of refunding the money the owner directed to vacate the house.

Meanwhile Samantasinghar went to his village for four days by locking his house. Taking this opportunity, house owner Jyotirani Sahu and her daughter Mousumi Sahu put another lock in the rented house.

On March 11, when Samantasinghar returned and noticed that his house was locked, seeing this he requested the house owner to open the lock, but despite his repeated request the owner did not open the house and instigated the other tenants to lock the house from the inside.

As per her direction the tenants locked the house from inside and restrained him from entering the house. Getting no alternative way he informed the matter to 112 police and then came to PS to report the matter.

After knowing the fact B.N.Pur Police contacted the house owner and requested her to open the house and came to police station for necessary enquiry, but instead of co-operating the police the house owner avoided and not opened the house. Next day morning the house owner requested to open the house, but she denied to open the house and remained adamant.

In the presence of Executive Magistrate Police, Executive Magistrate and other police staffs, the lock of the house was broken and on verification of the unlocked house, house hold articles of the complainant was found inside of the house and the house was found to be cleaned.

To find out the belongings to the tenant, search was made in the periphery of the spot house and some of the articles has been thrown in front of the spot house, some articles are thrown by the side of Railway track and some articles including the tenants certificates were found burned and some articles are thrown at a distance from the spot.
On verification of the spot CCTV footage, it was found that Mousumi Sahu had thrown the house hold articles and belongings of the complainant with the assist of a person. They also damaged the house hold articles of the complainant and burned his articles.

It is well ascertained from the circumstantial evidence and as well as on examination of witnesses and on verification of the CCTV footage that owner and her daughter entered into the house of the tenant by breaking his locks and committed theft of valuable articles and threw the house hold articles and wearing apparels of the complainant and burnt the same. Based on the prima facie evidence the accused owner and her daughter arrested and forwarded to the court, informed Berhampur SP Dr. Saravana Vivek M through a press note.