For two weeks, ever since the disappearance of Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi gained traction, Meghalaya’s reputation as a tourist-friendly state took an intense battering, with accusations flung about that it is unsafe and downright dangerous for visitors.
These claims were made not just by distraught family members, who could be forgiven in their time of grief, but also by national media houses that should have known better.
The state’s reputation took a further hit after Raja’s body was found on June 2, with clear signs of murder. Now, with police finding Sonam alive in Uttar Pradesh and with the arrests of four suspects, one of whom is believed to be her lover/boyfriend, Meghalaya has been exonerated.
Numerous unsubstantiated accusations were made since the police began their search for the duo and after the body was recovered. These included that police were not investigating the matter thoroughly, that the case would not be solved without the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Sonam had probably been kidnapped and taken to Bangladesh.
A national media house described Sohra and/or East Khasi Hills as “crime-prone” and “unsafe”. Kidnapping cases and trafficking over the border are a regular occurrence, it was alleged. National reporters descended on the state and harassed locals with their accusatory line of questioning.
Even today, when confronted by his daughter’s arrest, Sonam’s father, Devi Singh, said, “The Meghalaya Police is making up stories” and that once a CBI inquiry begins “all the officers from that Meghalaya police station will land in jail”.
In contrast, Raja’s brother Vipin, who had in the past made some of these claims, appeared to accept the version of events presented by Meghalaya police today.
Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh said the state government has noted the media trials run by national news channels and FIRs have been lodged against a section of the media.
He said the national news channels had attacked the image of Meghalaya. “On the media trial and the slugfest orchestrated by some news channels, the government through the police department has registered an FIR,” he said.
Lyngdoh also pointed out that the immediate family of the victim and the accused have used defamatory language against Meghalaya, who had also gone to the extent to incite people to take revenge against the people of the state.
“We will ensure that all these perpetrators will be brought to book,” he asserted.
In Meghalaya, the cracking of the case by the local police has vindicated people’s feeling that such a brutal crime would not be committed by locals in the tourist-driven economy of Sohra.
One of the first to react to the news of the breakthrough in the case was Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who wrote on social media, “Within 7 days (of the Special Investigation Team forming) a major breakthrough has been achieved by the Meghalaya Police in the Raja murder case…Well done, Meghalaya Police!
Cabinet minister Alexander Laloo Hek said that the state’s police, government and common people had been unfairly blamed during the search. “The truth has come out,” he said.
Sohra MDC Titosstarwell Chyne commended the Meghalaya police for solving the case and thanked all others involved in the search operation.
“Despite intense public pressure and false accusations, they (police) remained focused, professional and ultimately delivered justice,” he stated.
“During the course of this case there were reckless and baseless allegations made against the Meghalaya government, police and, especially, the local people of Sohra. These accusations not only damaged the reputation but also deeply hurt the dignity of our community. Now that the facts are clear, I strongly demand a public apology from those who defamed our institutions and our people. Misleading the public and targeting an entire community with false narratives is unacceptable and must be called out.”
He added that Sohra is well-known for its hospitality and that tourism is the area’s lifeline. The people of the region look forward to continuing to welcome visitors but “we will not remain silent when our dignity is attacked”.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem, who was personally targeted by various insinuations made against the conduct of the investigation in the previous two weeks, said at a news conference today that those making “extreme” communal statements attacking the people of Meghalaya will face action. The police have taken cognisance of such comments and have registered one suo moto case, while complaints by other parties have also been made.
Syiem added that the police, from the first day, have faced accusations that they were not doing enough to investigate the disappearance of the couple or locate Raja’s murderers after his body was found. He cautioned that communal statements targeting the people of Meghalaya could lead to unfortunate incidents against Meghalaya students and others living in mainland India.
Present at the same press conference was Home Minister (also Deputy Chief Minister) Prestone Tynsong, who said, “We, from the government, were so deeply hurt when we saw so many comments made on social media and in the national news that treated Meghalaya as a den of criminals.”
He excused those comments made by members of the couple’s family, saying that they may have been made “out of emotion or desperation”, but defended the state police as one of the best forces in the country.
