A tourist guide in Meghalaya has told the police that the missing honeymoon couple from Indore, Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, were accompanied by three men on May 23, the day they disappeared from the Sohra area.

Raja’s body was found days later in a deep gorge, while the search for Sonam is still ongoing. According to a police official, the guide’s statement has been recorded as part of the ongoing investigation.

What the tourist guide said

Local guide Albert Pde said he saw the couple with three other men on the morning of May 23 as they climbed more than 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat.

“The four men were walking ahead while the woman was behind. The four men were conversing in Hindi, but I could not understand what they were speaking as I know only Khasi and English,” Pde told PTI.

Pde added that he had met the couple a day earlier, on 22 May, and offered to take them down to Nongriat, but they had hired another guide named Bha Wansai instead.

He said they stayed the night at Shipara homestay and returned the next day without a guide. When Pde reached Mawlakhiat that day, the couple’s rented scooter was no longer in the parking area.

The scooter was later found abandoned at Sohrarim, several kilometres away, with the keys still attached.

‘They are searching like she is dead’

Sonam’s brother, Govind, who is in Shillong to help with the search, has criticised the state government's efforts. “We strongly believe Sonam is alive. They are searching for her like she is dead,” he told PTI, urging authorities to involve the CBI or other agencies.

Meanwhile, chief minister Conrad K Sangma said the government is doing everything possible. "No stone is being left unturned," he said.

Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem of East Khasi Hills district told PTI that rescue teams continue the search despite tough conditions. “We are trying our best... our boys are doing what they can without rest, using gadgets and trained dogs. The search will continue,” he said.

Meghalaya murder mystery deepens

A special investigation team led by an SP and assisted by four DSPs is probing the case. Search teams, including the NDRF, SDRF, sniffer dogs, drones, and trained climbers, are involved in the ongoing search for Sonam.

Raja's decomposed body was discovered on June 2 near the Weisawdong waterfalls. Police said his gold ring and chain were missing, raising suspicions of foul play. The next day, a bloodstained machete was found near the area, followed by a raincoat similar to Sonam’s, discovered in Mawkma village, located between Sohrarim and the gorge.

Earlier, a CCTV footage from a homestay showed Sonam wearing a raincoat similar to the one found earlier.

The Mawlakhiat parking lot lacks CCTV cameras and does not keep a record of parked vehicles.

A village elder told PTI that the area's infrastructure is poor, and electricity is unreliable. Locals have now decided to start keeping track of vehicle numbers and visitors' phone details.

(With PTI inputs)

Source: Hindustan Times