Meghalaya Govt to revisit MRSSA to minimize entry of criminal elements in the guise of tourists

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 13, 2025

The state government has decided to give more teeth to the existing Meghalaya Residents, Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016 to minimize the possibility of criminal elements entering Meghalaya in the “guise of tourists”.

The proposal assumes significance following the recent murder of a tourist from Indore, Madhya Pradesh (L) Raja Raghuvanshi while on a honeymoon at Sohra – a place famous for its tourist spots – by his wife and her lover’s friends. 

Addressing media persons after a cabinet meeting, MDA government spokesperson and cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh said, “The cabinet today also decided to revisit the MRSSA which is already an existing state Act to add more teeth to this Act in view of what we had just experienced in Sohra and to ensure that we minimize the possibility of criminal elements entering Meghalaya in the guise of tourists.” 

On the protest against the delay in the implementation of the inner line permit (ILP) in Meghalaya, Lyngdoh said that the matter is pending before the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

“As far as ILP is concerned, let me remind you that the state Assembly had already adopted a resolution. The matter is pending before the MHA, which has a number of queries, which we as state government are trying to address. Some of these queries relate to the fact that Meghalaya is not end point, we are also connecting the rest of the North East like the Silchar and states of Mizoram and Tripura,” he stated.

Asked, Lyngdoh said, “But if you go through the MRSSA, there is already a lot that is already in place but we need to upscale and further improved of what we already have in the MRSSA.”

According to him, the government will soon come up with formal proposal to further strengthening the MRSSA.