Sohra, June 4 – The serene beauty of Meghalaya’s famed Weisawdong Falls was shattered by a chilling discovery this week, as police confirmed that Raja Raghuvanshi, a 29-year-old tourist from Indore, was brutally murdered with a machete before his body was dumped into a deep gorge.
The decomposed remains of Raja were recovered on Monday from the lower levels of the gorge near the Weisawdong Parking Lot at Riat Arliang, nearly two weeks after he and his wife, 27-year-old Sonam Raghuvanshi, mysteriously vanished during a sightseeing trip on May 23.
Sonam remains untraceable, and an intensive search operation involving teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Special Operations Team (SOT) is underway to locate her.
Murder Weapon and Personal Belongings Recovered
Confirming the homicide, East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem told IANS that a dao (a traditional machete) and an additional knife believed to have been used in the murder were recovered from the gorge. “We have also recovered the victim’s mobile phone. The gorge has three layers, and our teams have scoured all levels,” he said.
The SP added that a white shirt, a strip of Pentra 40 medication, parts of a Vivo phone screen, and a smartwatch still strapped to Raja’s wrist were found at the site. Raja was identified by family members based on a tattoo on his right arm bearing his name.
High-Priority Investigation Underway
Authorities have registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence, treating it as a “special report case” of the highest priority. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the SP City has been constituted, comprising DSP Crime, DSP City and Operations, SDPO Sohra, and two sub-inspectors.
“Our focus is both on finding Sonam and on securing leads that could reveal the motive and identity of the perpetrator,” said SP Syiem.
Post-Mortem to Determine Cause of Death
Raja’s body has been sent to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in Shillong for a post-mortem to determine whether he died before or after being pushed into the gorge.
The discovery has sent shockwaves through the tourism-dependent town of Sohra (Cherrapunjee), prompting heightened security and closer monitoring of remote tourist sites.
Search teams are expected to continue combing the rugged terrain of the waterfall region in the coming days, hoping to locate Sonam and unravel the grim mystery that has gripped the hill state.
