A Gurugram woman has shared what she described as a “tenant nightmare” after allegedly being asked to vacate her rented apartment within an hour, leaving her stranded with her belongings and forcing her to check into a hotel. Sanghamitra Pati recounted the ordeal in an Instagram post, saying that “the working class is paying the price for systemic corruption”.
In the caption, Sanghamitra clarified that she was not living in a paying guest accommodation but in a “legit fully furnished apartment” for which she was paying a premium rent. “The Human Cost of Systemic Corruption: A Tenant’s Nightmare in Gurugram. Currently checking into a hotel room because it’s me and my cargo stranded on the road, ROOF-LESS,” she wrote in the caption of the post.
Sanghamitra alleged that several residents received calls “out of nowhere” directing them to “pack your entire life into bags and vacate your home within one hour”. She said she was in Odisha, visiting her parents, when the incident unfolded. “I wasn’t even in Gurugram. I was thousands of kilometres away in Odisha, visiting my parents to seek their blessings as I step into a massive new chapter of my life and career,” she wrote.
“Instead of celebration, I was hit with absolute panic,” she added.
Sanghamitra said that her friends had to break the lock to rescue her clothes and important documents. “Everything I own would be trapped or destroyed,” she said, adding that the broken lock would likely be deducted from her “security deposit”.
She also claimed that families with toddlers and elderly parents were among those affected. “People who have done absolutely nothing wrong, completely displaced and blindsided in the blistering heat,” she wrote, accusing authorities and property owners of showing a “lack of basic human empathy”.
“We leave out hometowns, our families, and the comfort of our homes to come to this city to build a living. To work our a**es off, chase our jobs, and fulfil our families’ dreams. We already pay extortionate, gone-bonkers rents and endure an insanely expensive cost of living that puts a massive dent in our pockets. We pay our taxes diligently – god only knows where that money goes, because the infrastructure here is a constant, daily shitshow,” Sanghamitra wrote.
Questioning who should be held responsible, she further wrote that owners allegedly knew about the situation but gave tenants no prior warning. She also accused officials of overlooking illegal multi-storey constructions for years and criticised the government for “throwing innocent citizens onto the road”.
“Who takes the blame? The builder? The corrupt state? God? The Panchbhoot?” she asked.
HT.com has reached out to Sanghamitra Pati. The article will be updated once a response is received.
Social media reactions
The posts triggered a flurry of reactions online, with several users claiming they had faced similar situations.
One user wrote, “Happened to my building as well.”
“That’s why we are leaving this city, it’s been almost 17 years here and I can clearly state that “Ye seher barbadi ki taraf ja raha hai”, also so many crime incidents on a daily basis,” commented another.
“This is the reality of the country we are living in, the leaders for whom we fight with our friends and families, at this point what’s legal or illegal makes no sense at all, LIVING IN INDIA WITH PRIDE IS THE COSTLIEST AFFAIR ONE CAN ENDURE, if you are poor living in slums you will be fed, provided shelter and later used as their vote bank. THIS COUNTRY NEEDS OVERHAULING, it’s beyond repair now,” wrote a third user.
“Unfortunate, but that’s because common people have no voice unless you are super wealthy, politically connected or some VIP. The ordinary people are only there are to face potholes, cor*ruption, systemic failures and pay taxes,” said another.
“That is why the Rent Agreement shouldn’t be signed blindly. Usually rent agreement contains atleast 1 month of notice from both the parties,” one user wrote.
