Hoteliers, guesthouse owners ordered to admit foreigners with ID proof

Hoteliers, guesthouse owners ordered to admit foreigners with ID proof
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, MAY 22
The government has once again issued a notification calling upon hoteliers, guest house owners and all those renting out their premises to ensure that they admit their customers only with identity proof and to submit ‘C’ Form to the nearest police station in case of foreign guests.
North Goa Collector Mihir Vardhan has, under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, ordered that that owners/management of all hotels/lodging and boarding, private guest houses, paying guest accommodation of all religious bodies, should not allow any visitors/guests to check in without providing any Photo Identity Proof such as Smart Card, Election Card, Employment Card, ATM Card or any other Photo Identity Card issued by the recognised authority, to furnish details of all foreigners staying in their premises in ‘C’ Form (prescribed by the Govt.) and the In-charge of such lodging places shall provide all such information for inspection to the Police Authority.
This order will be effective for the period of 60 days upto 09-07-2010, the notification said.
Any person contravening this order shall be punishable under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, it further warned.
The exercise is being done again following reports received from the Superintendent of Police (North), Porvorim that due to the prevailing situation in the country and intelligence inputs regarding terrorist threats to Western Coast of India, anti-social elements with an intention of committing crime in Goa, stay in hotels with fictitious names and bogus residential/official address, telephone numbers and after commission of crime, it becomes very difficult to locate the culprit on the basis of available information recorded in the Registers of Hotels/Guest Houses/Inns, as on verification it is found to be bogus.
Hence, he said, it is necessary that some checks should be put on the Owners/Management of all Hotels, Lodging and Boardings, Private Guest
Houses, Paying Guest Accommodation of all religious bodies so that terrorists/anti-social elements/foreigners in the guise of guests/visitors may not cause terrorism/anti-social activities and that prompt action is necessary for the prevention of such undesirable situation.