SHILLONG, June 9: In another disturbing incident involving tourists, the owner of Thrills Fun Park, Eugene Niangte was assaulted by a group of inebriated tourists from Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Niangte recounted that the altercation began when the group of tourists, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, deliberately vandalised dummies inside the park’s haunted house.
“When I confronted them, they started abusing me and then physically assaulted me,” he said. “It was only when my staff rushed in that they realised they were outnumbered and backed off.”
Despite the seriousness of the attack, Niangte chose not to file an FIR, citing prevailing tensions in the tourism sector following the high-profile Sohra incident. “At that time, I didn’t want to highlight it further. But now that the truth about that Sohra case is out, I feel enraged,” he said, expressing frustration over the silence he maintained for the sake of peace.
He clarified that no retaliatory action was taken against the tourists. “We didn’t even lay a finger on them. We were fully aware of the possible repercussions, especially given the intense scrutiny in the wake of Sohra incident,” he explained. The group was eventually asked to leave the premises, and they complied.
The incident comes at a time when Meghalaya’s tourism landscape is under pressure, with stakeholders calling for better regulation, security, and accountability mechanisms to protect local service providers from unruly behaviour by visitors.