Guwahati/Shillong:
Investigators have now pieced together the final 12 hours of a tourist couple from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, during their visit to Meghalaya’s scenic Nongriat village, home to the iconic double-decker living root bridge. The couple's activities have been reconstructed based on statements from locals and guides.
Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, recently married, were on their honeymoon when they went missing on May 23. Tragically, Raja’s body was recovered from a gorge on June 2. The search for Sonam continues, with both police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams involved. Her family remains hopeful and believes she may have been kidnapped.
The couple had checked into a guesthouse in Shillong, Meghalaya's capital, on May 21. The next day, they rented a scooty and traveled to the popular tourist destination of Sohra (Cherrapunji). From there, they reached Mawlakhiat village in East Khasi Hills, parked the scooty at a local community-run lot, and hired a guide to trek to a homestay in Nongriat.
Bhakupar Wanshai, the local guide who led them on the three-hour trek involving a steep descent of around 3,000 steps, said the couple called him around 3:30 pm on May 22. Though it was late, he agreed to guide them. Another guide, Albert Pde, joined them on the trek.
“We dropped them off at Shipara Homestay and left,” Wanshai told police, adding that the couple declined further guide services for the next day, saying they were confident about the route. He noted that Sonam spoke mostly in English during their interactions.
According to Sianti Sohkhlet, the owner of Shipara Homestay, the couple arrived around 5:30 pm. “They asked about the room tariff and guide fees and agreed to stay. They paid and signed the register before heading out briefly to visit the living root bridges. After they returned, we served dinner, and they retired for the night,” she recalled.
The following morning, May 23, the couple informed Sohkhlet they would check out early. They declined breakfast and signed out around 6:00 am, assuring her they remembered the way back.
The last confirmed sighting of the couple was around 10:00 am that morning. Guide Albert Pde told police he saw them climbing the 3,000 steps back towards Mawlakhiat, accompanied by three other men whom he assumed were tourists.
The disappearance has raised concerns, and investigators are continuing to probe the case while searching for Sonam Raghuvanshi.
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