FIR against Pahalgam hotel for concealing stay of foreigners, mostly British

SRINAGAR: Police on Monday registered an FIR against a hotel in J&K’s Pahalgam for allegedly concealing the stay of foreign guests, most of them British nationals.

The case was filed against Hotel Misty Mountains Laddi after police found during a routine check that 23 foreign nationals, among them 19 British citizens, had checked into the hotel on March 22 evening.

According to police, the hotel management wilfully failed to inform the local police station about the guests and did not submit the mandatory Form C under the Foreigners and Immigration Act, violating prescribed security protocols.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack last year that left 26 people dead, enforcement of the Foreigners and Immigration Act has been tightened across the Kashmir Valley. In Dec last year, a Chinese national was questioned for allegedly violating visa rules by travelling to J&K and Ladakh without permission, while the hotel accommodating the individual was booked for failing to file Form C.

Filing of Form C with the Foreigners Registration Office is mandatory and can be completed online.

In an advisory issued last year, police had asked all hotels, guest houses, houseboats and homestay operators to strictly follow Form C submission norms for foreign nationals. “Non-compliance is a serious offence and will invite strict legal action,” the advisory said.

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