Police say no foul play can be inferred at this point, awaits post-mortem report
Shillong, April 11: Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Home (Police), Prestone Tynsong, on Friday said there is no foul play with regards to the recent death of a foreign national from Hungary in a village in East Khasi Hills district.
“There was no such foul play at all. Very unfortunate he had an accident in that river,” Tynsong told reporters.
The deputy chief minister said the government regularly reminds the tourists coming to Meghalaya to be careful around the rivers and its adjoining areas. “You can’t treat the water of plain belt and hilly areas (as same); it is totally different. Therefore, we request them that you have to be very careful while swimming and even while touring to the riverbeds,” he said.
On Thursday, police recovered the decomposed body of the Hungarian tourist from an area called Ryngku Ksang, under Ramdait village in the Shella region. The body of the deceased, identified as Zolt Puskas, was found around 1:30 PM along the old trail leading to Tyrna village.
Puskás Zsolt arrived in Shillong on March 29 and checked into a hotel in Laitumkhrah at around 3:45 AM. He checked out at approximately 9:00 AM the same day and took a local taxi, which reportedly dropped him off at Mawsahew village near Sohra around noon. From there, he began trekking alone toward Mawkawir with the intention of reaching Nongriat, carrying only a backpack.
Puskas had been reported missing since March 29, 2025, and a formal complaint was lodged with the police on April 2.
Meghalaya Police await post-mortem report
Meanwhile, Meghalaya police also don’t suspect any foul play in the death of the Hungarian tourist at this stage of investigation.
Addressing the media, East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said, “His money and mobile – everything is intact. At this juncture, no foul play can be inferred, at least from the body, but we will be more clear after the post-mortem report.”
On April 2, the Hungarian Embassy informed local police that Zsolt had gone missing. “On April 2, we received information that this person had gone missing. From that day, search parties were deployed across several villages, including Ramdait, Mawsahew, and Mawkawir. There’s a Mawkawir cave also in that area,” the SP said.
“Some local children had reportedly seen him near Mawkawir and also at Ramdait,” he added.
Police teams, along with personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Drone Centre, conducted extensive searches. “Yesterday, at around 1:30 PM, six teams were in the area. There was one beaten path that was no longer used or traversed. The body was found in that place,” said Syiem.
“The body was preserved last night. This morning, the inquest and post-mortem were carried out at the spot. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team arrived, and a case has been registered. The body has now been taken to Sohra and kept in the morgue,” he added.
Syiem also confirmed that authorities are in contact with the Hungarian Embassy. “We are in touch with the embassy, and they will inform us whether the family will come to take over his body or if we will proceed with the final rites.”
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