Raja Raghuvanshi murder: Meghalaya makes tourist registration mandatory at all homestays

Following the sensational murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, the Meghalaya government has directed all homestays, resorts and families to mandatorily record details of tourists that stay there.

A senior official of the Meghalaya Tourism Department said that the state government has directed all the homestays, resorts and even landlords to compulsorily register all their visitors and take their necessary details."The government would ensure that all homestays and accommodation units now obligatorily register tourists, visitors and guests through the tourism app.”

The Meghalaya government on June 13 decided to strengthen existing laws to ensure the safety of state residents and curb the entry of criminal elements posing as tourists.


Meghalaya Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh had said that the council of ministers in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on June 13 decided to review the Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016, an existing state legislation, to add tougher provisions to the Act to minimise the possibility of criminal elements entering Meghalaya as tourists.

The government's move comes weeks after the ghastly murder of Raja Raghuvanshi (28), who was brutally killed during his honeymoon while on a trip to Sohra-Cherrapunji areas of the East Khasi Hills district, in a plot allegedly orchestrated by his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi (24) and her alleged lover Raj Singh Kushwaha (21).

Pressure groups in Meghalaya had intensified demand for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) to keep tabs of people entering the state.

Members of the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) had staged a protest outside the Main Secretariat recently seeking implementation of ILP recently.

CoMSO leader Donboklang Kharlyngdoh had said that the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution in 2019 urging the Centre to implement the ILP, yet no response has been received even after nearly six years.

The organisations stated, “If ILP were in place, individuals with dubious intentions would think twice before entering Meghalaya. They would have to register their name, address, duration of stay, and departure plans. The main accused, Sonam, had entered the state with her husband and exited the state alone”.