Bengaluru: The City police on Saturday conducted special drive to check security measures at various Paying Guest (PG) accommodation facilities for men and women across the City.

The drive was conducted under the supervision of Additional Commissioners of Police P Harishekharan (Law and Order-East) and Alok Kumar (West). “A lot of crimes were reported in the past few weeks at various PGs in the City. These crimes included thefts of cellphones, laptops and other gadgets. The number of thefts of two-wheelers was also on the rise.

There were complaints about outsiders staying in the PGs illegally. Majority of the PGs lacked safety measures. Many of them were on the verge of becoming hubs of petty crimes. Hence, a decision was taken to take stock of the situation and implement safety guidelines,” said the police.

“The police conducted surprise checks in 273 PGs, of both men and women, in East Division, 566 in South East Division and 83 in North East Division. There were several security lapses and the police spoke to inmates of the PGs and their owners. We educated them about the prevention of crimes by ensuring certain safety guidelines,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order-East) P Harishekharan told sources.

The police directed the PG owners to install CCTV cameras compulsorily, deploy private security guards, especially at women’s PGs, to ensure safety of vehicles. The owners have been strictly told to maintain a log register and restrict the entry of outsiders, he added.