The death of tourist Raja Raghuvanshi has shocked Meghalaya to its core, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said today while pledging that no stone will be left unturned in the search for the truth.
Police ascertained yesterday that Raghuvanshi, whose body was found on Monday, was the victim of a homicide, with a dao found near his body said to be the murder weapon. His wife, Sonam, is still missing nearly two weeks after the couple disappeared.
“It’s something we never really expected. We all know that Meghalaya has always been a tourist friendly area and their safety has been ensured,” Sangma told reporters.
Expressing grief at the death of Raghuvanshi, the CM promised the family members that they will get to the depths of the facts.
“We will leave no stone unturned to ensure we find out the details,” Sangma said, adding that police, rescue workers, other government departments and the local communities are all deeply involved in the search operation.
In the days prior, Raghuvanshi’s brother had expressed disappointment with the pace of the search and the willingness of the state authorities to consider that the couple had been the victims of a crime. Yesterday, before the homicide angle was revealed, he called for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into his brother’s death.
When asked about this, the CM said that it is important to find out the facts of the situation and truth must come out. Whatever steps are required to achieve this will be taken at the appropriate juncture, he added. However he said that it is currently too early to say how to move forward.
However, he reiterated that Sohra and the entire state is known to be pro-tourism and its citizens are receptive to visitors. Taking the incident into account, Sangma said that in the future measures will be taken so that such things do not take place again.
