PESHAWAR, Nov 6: The random checking of tenants in different localities of the provincial metropolis has caused serious unrest among the renters.

The tenants have asked the provincial government to stop teasing innocent people in name of security check. They said that police picked them at night and asked them to produce the rent deed.

Several renters, belonging to dif ferent areas, told this correspondent that they were kept in police stations for many hours.

They said that they had no prior information about producing the rent deed to police.

Police kept them in habeas corpus for many hours to complete the lengthy process of investigation, they complained.

`Our relatives remained in Kotwali police station from 6am to 10am. They were released after producing the relevant documents. They did not know about the process as it is duty of the property owners and property dealers,` said Shakeel Ahmed.

Some other tenants, especially students residing in dif ferent plazas at Khyber Super Market, said that police mishandled them at night and took them to the police station for the only reason that they didn`t possess the rent agreement.

`We have been here for many months to prepare ourselves for examinations but police usually tease us in the name of search operation. We have national identity cards and other documents but property owner have not give us the deed, which is not our fault,` some students, pleading anonymity, said.

They demanded of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa inspector general of police to take action against the relevant police personnel for rounding up innocent students.

However, the SHO concerned, Zarwali Khan, said that it had been earlier announced through media that all the tenants should submit the rend deeds with the relevant police stations so that presence of suspected persons in the area could be checked.

`Police have launched search operation to check movement of anti-state and anti-social elements in different sensitive areas. We collect data of tenants and release all the people after proper verification,` another official of the C-Division police station said.

A police spokesman said that the operation was aimed at checking illegal Afghan immigrants, suspected persons and proclaimed offenders. He said that during search operation in Gulberg, Nauthia, Izzat Khan Chowk, Khyber Super Market, Bamba Road and other adjacent localities some 98 people were picked up early on Wednesday morning.

Of the arrested people, he said, five were illegal Afghan immigrants, who were charged under 14 Foreign Act, while the rest were arrested under 55/109. He said that police had also recovered two Kalashnikovs, two rifles and six pistols from the possession of arrested persons.

Meanwhile, all the additional assistant commissioners, tehsildars and naib tehsildars across Peshawar district have been directed to remain present on duty till 10th of Muharram.

Acting commissioner Syed Zaheerul Islam has directed the officials to remain in touch with him to take prompt action in case of any kind of emergency. He said that administration would take all possible steps to maintain law and order at all costs.

The commissioner, SSP Najeebur Rehman and officials of security forces visited different imambargahs and checked security arrangements, cleanliness and lightings and asked the people to extend cooperation to police in maintenance of peace in Peshawar.