Indore couple missing mystery deepens in Meghalaya: Husband found dead without valuables, wife still missing

A day after the body of an Indore man was found in a gorge in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined the ongoing search for his missing wife on Tuesday, police said. Raja Raghuvanshi (29) and his wife Sonam were reported missing on May 23, shortly after they checked out from a homestay at Nongriat village. His body was found on Monday, nearly 20 km from where they had last stayed.

The couple, who had arrived in Mawlakhiat village on May 22, rented a scooter before trekking 3,000 steps to visit the living root bridges at Nongriat. They spent the night there and left the homestay the next morning.

NDRF joins efforts, drones and SIT deployed

"A team of 17 rescuers from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined the search and rescue operations at Sohra today," East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem told PTI.

He added that drones, mountaineers, and special police units are already assisting in the operation. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed to probe the case. A homicide case has been registered.

Clues found near body; family demands CBI probe

According to police, Raja’s body was identified by his brother, who recognised a tattoo on his right hand that read “Raja.” Police also recovered a woman’s white shirt, a medicine strip, part of an LCD screen, and a smartwatch from the site.

Raja’s brother, present at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences during the post-mortem, called for a deeper investigation.

"Since my brother's gold rings, a golden chain and his wallet were missing, we suspect it to be a murder. We urge the authorities to let the Central Bureau of Investigation probe the matter," he said.

Rain stalls search, causes damage in region

Extreme weather has hampered the search efforts. “Heavy rainfall and low visibility had on May 30 stalled the search and rescue operations,” police said. Sohra recorded about 500 mm of rainfall between May 29 and 31, matching the annual rainfall of Mysore, according to a Met department official.

Landslides and flash floods in the East Khasi and Jaintia Hills have disrupted traffic and caused six deaths and over 10 injuries.

Scooter found abandoned; earlier similar incident reported

Police began their search on May 24 after the couple’s scooter was found abandoned near a café on the Shillong-Sohra road. Local villagers helped with initial search efforts.

Earlier this year, a Hungarian tourist, Puskas Zsolt, also went missing after trekking to the same living root bridges. His body was found 12 days later. Police ruled out foul play in that case, stating he died from a fall.

MPs review situation

Indore MPs Shankar Lalwani and Sumer Singh Solanki reviewed the rescue operations with Meghalaya’s Director General of Police I Nongrang and Chief Secretary DP Wahlang. They expressed satisfaction with the efforts being made.