Indore couple missing case: Husband's body recovered from gorge

Nearly 10 days after a newly married couple (Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam) from Madhya Pradesh went missing in Meghalaya's Cherrapunji, rescue teams on Monday (June 2) found a decomposed body suspected to be of Raghuvanshi.

Body spotted using drone

Police said that the rescue team is on its way to the spot located on a steep gorge in Cherrapunji, also known as Sohra, to recover the body for identification. A PTI report quoted a senior police officer as saying that the rescue team found the male body near Weisawdong Falls in the Sohra area using a drone.

The officer further revealed that after the body was retrieved, the police would contact Raja’s family members for identification.

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Missing since May 23

According to media reports, Raja and Sonam arrived in Meghalaya from Indore on May 20 for their honeymoon. But they went missing on May 23 and were last seen in the popular tourist destination Sohra, also known as Cherrapunji.

Earlier, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that despite the best efforts of the police, administration, and locals, the search and rescue operations launched to locate the couple were facing severe hurdles due to heavy rains in Cherrapunji and adjoining areas.

The Chief Minister also said that his administration was using all possible technology available to quicken the pace of the rescue operation.

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Monsoon made rescue difficult

Sangma said that on the day the couple went missing, officials of the local administration found a bike on the road adding that it seemed that they left the rented bike there and went off road.

He further revealed that the area had deep hiking tracks on both sides which became very slippery during monsoon. “The search area is very, very big. We are working very hard to trace them. We are hopeful that we will be able to find them," he said as quoted in media reports.

"I have been monitoring this case personally daily. The SP, as well as the entire administration, and the police force have been on the job 24/7 to find the couple. Not only are the administration but the entire village and the community in that area also participating in this search," he added as quoted by NDTV.

The Chief Minister had also said that Madhya Pradesh counterpart reached out to him and had been assured of full cooperation.

With agency inputs