Multiple agencies on Wednesday continued to comb a rugged and forested terrain in Meghlaya in search of a missing tourist from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, even as they recovered a smashed mobile phone and a machete from a gorge, where her newly-wed husband’s body was found near the Weisawdong Falls on Monday.
Police said there was no breakthrough in the efforts, including aerial operations, to trace Sonam Raghuvanshi, the missing tourist, after her husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found after a drone spotted it. The newly-wed couple, who were in Meghalaya for their honeymoon, went missing on May 23.
The Meghalaya police, fire and emergency services, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force, dog squads, and West Jaiñtia Hills Adventurers and Mountaineering Association volunteers were involved in the search operation.
An investigator said the machete recovered from the gorge does not resemble the ones traditionally used in Meghalaya. “The handle of the machete is of plastic, not wood, which is uncommon for locally crafted sharp tools,” said the investigator.
Police superintendent Vivek Syiem said the machete and the mobile phone have been sent for forensic examination. “We sent the machete… for analysis to ascertain if it was used in the killing of Raja Raghuvanshi,” Syiem said.
Syiem said they have registered a homicide case and described Sonam Raghuvanshi’s disappearance as inexplicable. “It is very unusual…while we found Raja’s body, there is no trace at all of Sonam. She seems to have vanished, despite the vast and relentless search operation,” he said.
Police suspect foul play and believe Raja Raghuvanshi’s death was not an accident. A Special Investigation Team has been constituted to probe the case.
The scooter the couple rented was found abandoned in Sohrarim, about 25 km from the gorge, with the key in the ignition. Heavy rainfall and strong winds over the past week hampered the operation for the couple’s search.
On Monday, a police drone spotted Raja Raghuvanshi’s body deep in the gorge. A white shirt, medicine, part of a phone screen, and a smart watch were also recovered from the scene.
The body was identified by a tattoo on his right hand reading “Raja”. Executive magistrate Adiel R Kynta conducted an on-site inquest in the presence of independent witnesses.
Chief minister Conrad K Sangma has been monitoring the investigation and search operations. Shankar Lalwani, the member of Parliament from Indore, and Rajya Sabha member Sumer Singh Solanki, who visited Shillong and met state officials, expressed concern over the slow progress in resolving the case.
Raja Raghuvanshi’s relatives were awaiting his post-mortem at Shillong’s North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, after which his body will be taken to Indore.