Sajid Raina
Srinagar, Dec 8: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday detained a Chinese national and booked several hotels, homestays and houseboats in Srinagar for violating mandatory Form-C reporting norms under the Immigration and Foreigners Act.
An official said that five First Information Reports have been registered across different police stations following routine checking of accommodation facilities in Rajbagh, Khanyar, Lal Bazar, Nishat and Ram Munshi Bagh areas.
In Rajbagh, Hotel Blossoms, Hotel Grand MS and Hotel Golden Forest were found to have accommodated foreign nationals without submitting Form-C to the Foreigners Registration Office, leading to the registration of FIR No. 65/2025 under Sections 8 and 23-B of the Act at Police Station Rajbagh, the official said.
Hotel Khyber in the Khanyar area also faced action for non-submission of Form-C despite repeated reminders, resulting in FIR No. 57/2025 at Police Station Khanyar.
In Lal Bazar, a homestay identified as IMY Home Stay in Nowabagh Bagwanpora was booked for concealing the stay of a foreign national from Israel and failing to file mandatory online Form-C information. FIR No. 60/2025 under the same Act was registered in Police Station Lal Bazar.
Police said an FIR was also filed in Nishat (FIR No. 101/2025) against a house owner from Vakeel Colony, Brein, for non-compliance with reporting obligations.
In Ram Munshi Bagh, four houseboats Floating Castle, Best View, Crystal Palace and Lake Palace were booked for similar violations relating to guests from Taiwan, Russia, Romania and Spain. FIR No. 94/2025 under Sections 7, 14 and 16 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act was registered at Police Station Ram Munshi Bagh.
The spokesperson said investigations are underway to determine whether there are forward or backward linkages to the violations. Operators of hotels, homestays, guest houses and houseboats were advised to strictly comply with foreign guest reporting norms, with police warning that non-compliance constitutes a serious offence under law.
Meanwhile, probe agencies have sent the mobile phone of Chinese national Hu Congtai for forensic examination after he was detained in Srinagar over alleged visa violations, officials said.
Hu, 29, had arrived in India on a tourist visa that permitted travel to select Buddhist pilgrimage sites but had toured Ladakh and parts of Kashmir, including locations of strategic interest, they said.
His browsing data indicated searches related to security deployments and Article 370, prompting investigators to examine the device to ensure no data was erased prior to detention, according to officials.
Hu arrived in Delhi on November 19 and travelled to Leh the next day without registering at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office counter at the airport. He later arrived in Srinagar and stayed at an unregistered guest house, officials said.
