The missing tourist couple from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, are yet to be traced even as authorities have intensified its operation, police said today.
The couple Raja Raghuvanshi (29) and his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi were last seen on May 22.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police (SP), Vivek Syiem informed that searches are being conducted along the path taken by the couple to Nongriat from Mawlakhiat.
Syiem also informed that a drone team from the North East Space Application Centre (NESAC), K9 dog unit, Fire and Emergency Service and State Disaster Response Force have been pressed into the search operation.
“Villages like Jathang, Mawkma, Diewlieh have also been searched,” the East Khasi Hills SP, who is co-supervising the search, said.
Police said the couple had rented a two-wheeler from Keating Road in Shillong to explore Sohra. Their disappearance was reported after their phones remained switched off, prompting concerns about their safety.
The couple’s relative Govind filed a missing persons report and the two-wheeler they had rented was subsequently recovered by locals.
According to Syiem, after hiring the two-wheeler they went to Mawlakhiat. The couple were last seen on May 22 checking into a guest house, Shipara Homestay in Nongriat.
The SP said that the next day, at around 5:30am, they returned to Mawlakhiat. Locals found the abandoned scooty from Sohrarim on May 23 near Golden Pines Dhaba. The couple had taken a guide from Mawlakhiat to Nongriat but when they returned they were on their own.
Cabinet minister Alexander Laloo Hek visited Sohra today to get a first-hand report on the search operation. “I have been briefed on the case details, recent developments and the scope of the search operations. I reviewed the deployment of K9 units, drones and SOT (Special Operation Team) personnel, as well as the extended search areas. I have
emphasised the urgency of a thorough and expedited search to locate the missing couple,” Hek stated.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Shillong Hotels have also urged the authorities to ensure the safe return of the guests at the earliest. Parambir Singh Sehdave, president of the federation, expressed concern over the incident and prayed for the safe and quick return of the tourist couple from MP.
