UP tourists vandalise homestay in Meghalaya, arrested: Police

Shillong, Jul 13 (PTI) Three tourists from Uttar Pradesh, accused of vandalising a homestay and intimidating its staff in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district last week, were arrested in West Bengal's Alipurduar district on Monday, a senior police officer said. Three minors allegedly involved in the incident were also detained, East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said. The case relates to the alleged vandalisation of Oakwood Homestay in Risa Colony, where the owner lodged an FIR on July 11 alleging that some guests threatened staff, damaged property and left the premises without paying their bill. "With regard to the incident that took place at Oakwood Homestay in Risa Colony, we received a complaint on July 11 alleging that two persons threatened to damage the guest house and left without paying the bill," Syiem told PTI. He said two cases were registered following the complaint, after which Meghalaya Police sought assistance from the SPs of Kokrajhar in Assam and Alipurduar in West Bengal, besides a police team from Sapatgram, to trace the accused. "Around 4.45 pm, we located Vikas Singh, Avinash Singh, Akand Pratap Singh and three minors, all around 17 years old," he said. The adults were initially detained by West Bengal Police and later taken into custody by the East Khasi Hills Police team. They were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Alipurduar, he said. However, as the offences invoked are punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years, the three accused were granted bail, the SP said. The minors were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. The accused have been booked under Sections 351(3), 324(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). PTI JOP MNB