Indore tourist found dead: Family suspects foul play, demands CBI probe into his ‘murder’

The family of an Indore resident, whose body was found 11 days after he and his wife went missing during their trip to Meghalaya, on Tuesday alleged he was murdered and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

Transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi (29) and his wife Sonam went missing on May 23 at Sohra (also known as Cherrapunji) in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district.

The man’s body was found in the north-eastern state on Monday in a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra area, while search for his wife continues.

According to officials, Nongriat village is located 20 km away from the place where the body was found and the Meghalaya police have registered an FIR on charges of murder and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case.

Raghuvanshi’s elder brother Sachin Raghuvanshi said, “This is a case of murder. I only have one demand from the government that the case should be investigated by the CBI. I have lost my brother, but I do not want to lose my sister-in-law. The government should find her at any cost. I have been demanding from the beginning that the Army’s help should be taken in the search operation,” he said.

Sachin suspects that the local hotel and restaurant staff, guides, and two-wheeler rental operators in Meghalaya may be involved in the alleged murder of his brother and the disappearance of his sister-in-law, and urges the police to question them thoroughly.

According to Meghalaya officials, the newlyweds reached Mawlakhiyat village on a rented scooter on May 22. They parked their vehicle and went to see the famous ‘Living Root Bridge’ in Nongriat village, where they stayed overnight and left the next morning.

The couple’s scooter was found abandoned at a cafe on the road from Shillong to Sohra on May 24, following which police were informed and a search operation was planned with the help of local villagers, as per the Meghalaya police.