Fines For Theft, Drugs: Bengaluru Association Apartment Booked For Running Its Own ‘Justice System’

Kumbalgodu police booked Provident Sunworth Apartment Association and Tyco Security for handling crimes like sexual assault and drug offences internally. (AI Image)

Police in Bengaluru have registered a criminal case against a residential apartment association and its private security contractor for allegedly bypassing the criminal justice system and dealing with criminal offences internally instead of reporting them to law enforcement authorities.

The Kumbalgodu police have booked the Provident Sunworth Apartment Association and Tyco Security, the private agency providing security services at the complex, accusing them of framing and enforcing unauthorised penal rules, conducting internal inquiries into criminal incidents, and imposing fines on residents involved in alleged offences.

According to the police, the apartment complex, located in Doddabele in southwest Bengaluru, houses residents from across the country, including students. Investigators allege that multiple residents were involved in a range of offences, from minor violations to serious crimes such as sexual assault, theft, consumption of narcotic substances, and illegal possession of drugs within the apartment premises and surrounding areas.

Instead of reporting these incidents to the police, the apartment association allegedly created its own bylaws, questioned the accused internally, levied monetary penalties, and allowed those involved to go free. The private security agency is accused of facilitating and assisting the association in carrying out these actions.

Police said this practice resulted in the suppression of criminal cases, denial of justice to victims, and helped accused individuals evade legal consequences.

“When we received information about what was happening, we decided to register a case against them for attempting to protect those involved in crimes against women, theft and drug-related offences,” said Anitha B Haddannavar, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South West Division. “Such crimes should have been reported to the police. Instead, they were handled internally by enforcing self-made rules. The association had even framed its own bylaws under which fines were imposed. In the past few months alone, fines of up to ₹25,000 were collected for the use of illegal substances.”

Based on these allegations, a case has been registered at Kumbalgodu Police Station under Sections 211, 238, 239, 3(5) and 3(6) of the law, along with relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The matter is currently under investigation.

Police have reiterated that private associations have no legal authority to investigate criminal offences or impose penalties, and stressed that all crimes must be reported to the police without exception.

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