Four tourists go missing this year, search for them on

Published On: July 13, 2022 02:40 PM NPT By: Enika Rai

KATHMANDU, JULY 13: Four foreign tourists visiting Nepal went missing in the last one year.

According to Nepal Tourist Police, four tourists have gone missing in the current fiscal year which ends after a couple of days. The tourist police unit had received a total of 180 complaints related to tourists from July 2021 to July 12 this year. Of these, four tourists have been reported missing. Deputy Superintendent of Police and Information Officer for the Tourist Police, Tourism Unit, Tarkaraj Pandey said that four tourists have been reported missing so far.

According to him, the four missing are 50-year-old Korean Yonhi Lee, 49-year-old Israeli Yong Kidron, 36-year-old Jordanian Mohamed Haider and 31-year-old Indian Chandra Mohan Shivnath. According to him, they have been missing since last July, April, May and June. He said that the search for all of them is still going on.

Two tourists were missing last year. This year, the number has doubled. According to the tourist police unit, the total number of complaints has increased from 79 last year to 180 this year. Out of 180 complaints registered with the Tourism Police Unit, four are about missing tourists, 112 are about lost passports, 23 are related to theft, 18 related to fraud, nine related to harassment and disputes, one related to attack and assault and four other reasons. Investigating Officer of the Tourism Police Unit Krishna Thapa said that three complaints were lodged against tourists.

DSP Pandey said that the complaints would be addressed by coordinating with the agencies concerned. He said that security was paramount and as the tourism police was not an independent body, the unit would work on the complaints in collaboration with the different bodies concerned based on the nature of the complaints. He said, "If they [tourists] feel safe and secure, they can enjoy the beauty of the country easily; not everyone is ready to risk their lives to be a tourist. The tourist police are always ready for the safety of the tourists.”

As the Tourist Police Department is not an independent body, it does not have a separate special unit or task force. The Tourism Police Unit, a unit of Nepal Police, works in coordination with the police administration, local bodies and the governmental and non-governmental bodies concerned.

Tourism, which has come to a standstill due to Covid-19, is slowly reviving. According to Krishna Thapa, research officer of the unit, the crime rate in the tourism sector is very low based on the number of tourist arrivals. He claimed that the tourist police have addressed various possible threats and expanded various awareness programs and services. He said, "The tourist police are ready 24 hours a day for the safety of tourists. We are committed to the safety of tourists."

Tourist Police - Tourism Unit was established in 1979. It has been working as a unit of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Department of Tourism. At present, there are 277 police officers in the tourist police unit and 28 units in 15 districts under them. Out of which, 10 tourist police units have been deployed in Kathmandu and 18 outside Kathmandu for the security of tourists.