“The administration is working but it’s very slow. Rescue operation is too slow,” says Vipin Raghuvanshi, brother of missing tourist Raja Raghuvanshi — a desperate cry for urgency as the family waits in agony, while a newlywed couple from Indore remains missing in Meghalaya’s famed Sohra region.
What should have been a celebration of new beginnings has spiraled into a haunting mystery. Just twelve days after their May 11 wedding, 30-year-old Raja Raghuvanshi and his 27-year-old wife Sonam vanished while on their honeymoon in the misty hills of Sohra.
The couple had rented a two-wheeler from Keating Road, Shillong, on May 22, planning to explore the scenic beauty of the region. But by May 23, they had gone completely off the radar. Their scooter was later found abandoned near Golden Pines Dhaba in Sohrarim — the key still in the ignition, but no sign of them.
Local authorities were alerted by the village head, triggering an official search. But for the Raghuvanshi family, particularly Vipin who has rushed to Sohra to assist in the ground efforts, time is slipping away in excruciating silence.
While the East Khasi Hills District Police confirmed that four search teams — comprising Meghalaya Police, SDRF, Home Guards, and local volunteers — are on the ground, the family alleges critical delays and ineffective coordination.
“I spoke to them on 23rd afternoon. Though police are assuring help, no action was taken,” said Vipin Raghuvanshi. “We had our doubts on two-three people—one is the person who rented the scooty, second is the guide who helped them to find a hotel at Double Decker Bridge, thirdly the hotel owner. Perhaps kidnapping cannot be ruled out for ransom—both had gold chains and diamond bracelets, four mobile phones and power banks, they wore gold rings. All the four mobiles were switched off at the same time.”
He added, “Today some dogs and all gone down,” referring to sniffer units deployed in the rugged forest trails around Nongriat and Mawlakhiat—the couple’s last known destination.
The Sohra Police Station has initiated an official search, and teams continue to comb the cliffs, riverbanks, and dense trails leading to the Double Decker Root Bridge.
But comparisons are now being drawn to the recent disappearance and tragic death of Hungarian tourist Puskas Zsolt in the same district. His body was recovered twelve days after he was reported missing near Ramdait village. While authorities concluded that case as an accidental fall, it raised serious questions about tourist safety and emergency protocols in the region.
In response, the East Khasi Hills administration had issued an advisory urging tourists to avoid venturing into remote terrains without trained local guides. Yet just weeks later, the Raghuvanshis’ disappearance has reignited fears — and exposed systemic cracks.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday called the incident “extremely shocking” and urged swift, coordinated action between states to trace the couple without delay.
As the search enters its seventh day, hope flickers on the edge. For a family torn by fear and helplessness, and a state grappling with repeated disappearances, every minute matters in the forests of Sohra.
