‘Owner would sit at entrance to the building,let people in only after he collected rent’

In Lalita Park,everyone has a story about him,his clout and the way he ran his little empire in the area. Singh owns at least five nearly-identical buildings,200 tenants packed into each.

When he was not checking on his cement and construction material business,Singh would take the scooter and check on each of his properties. At the start of every month,he would sit on a chair at the entrance to a building — he normally never entered any of his own buildings — and,armed with his book of accounts,would collect rent from each tenant. Rs 400-500 per person per month,depending on the accommodation.

“We had to pay him before we could return to our rooms. His message was clear: if you cannot afford the rent,vacate the room,” said Tanuki Yadav who moved to Delhi from Munger in Bihar and now works as a daily wager at construction sites.

Even at Ramesh Park R-Block where he has his own residence — it is just a few lanes away from N-85 — most neighbours recall Singh sitting on a chair on the street. He has three daughters and a son — the son studies abroad.

Singh’s mother lives in a separate house next to his residence. Her house was also locked. That they had all left in a great hurry on Monday night was evident from the cooked food lying on the table.

Police sources claimed Singh has 25 cases registered against him in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh — his name figures in cases at police stations in Shakarpur,Gandhi Nagar,Preet Vihar and Delhi Cantonment. “He has cases in all these police stations. We are collecting details,” said I B Rani,Additional DCP (East).

Police sources said Singh’s movements were tracked. His cellphone details showed him moving in the areas of Chander Nagar,Krishna Nagar and Geeta Colony since Monday night. “He made 25 calls to different people,” the sources said.