New CCTV footage has surfaced in the case of the Indore couple who went missing in Meghalaya last month, as the police intensify their search for the woman after her husband's body was recovered from a gorge last week.
Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam had travelled to Cherrapunjee in East Khasi Hills for their honeymoon and were last seen on May 23. The couple had arrived in Nongriat the previous day and were last spotted checking out of Balaji Homestay. A rented scooty they were using was later found abandoned in Sohrarim.
On June 2, Raja’s body was located with the help of a drone inside a deep gorge below the Weisawdong Parking Lot at Riat Arliang. A machete, suspected to be the murder weapon, was recovered nearby.
Meghalaya Police, as part of the ongoing investigation, have released nearly five minutes of CCTV footage showing the couple’s final known movements.
In one clip, the couple is seen arriving at the homestay on their two-wheeler. Raja is shown parking the vehicle while Sonam takes off her jacket.
Raja is then seen sitting on the doorstep and handing something to his wife. Police sources say the jacket matches one found stained with blood near Weisawdong; it has been sent for forensic examination.
Another video shows Raja at the homestay reception, apparently checking out. Sonam is seen waiting outside on the scooter. Earlier footage had shown the couple checking into a hotel in Shillong.
The case is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police. Meanwhile, Raja’s family has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"We demand a CBI probe in the case. His (Raja) body was found 25 kilometers away from where the vehicle (a rented scooty) was parked. We suspected that he was kidnapped (and taken to Weisawdong falls). It is not possible for my brother and his wife to die by suicide. The local police are not ready to listen to us when we say it is a case of kidnapping, looting and murder," the victim's brother Vipin Raghuvanshi said.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has stated he is "personally monitoring" the investigation. The search operation includes teams from the police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Special Operations Team (SOT).
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