Meghalaya murder mystery: Will stained raincoat help find missing woman?

The mystery around what really happened to the missing Indore couple in Meghalaya continues to raise more questions than answers.

Now, authorities have found fresh clues that could help trace 26-year-old Sonam Raghuvanshi, who is still missing, days after her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, was found brutally murdered in a gorge near the popular Wei Sawdong Falls in Sohra region.

The two had travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon on May 22. But what began as a dreamy getaway has taken a grim turn a day later, as the couple went missing near Osara Hills, close to Cherrapunji.

While Raja’s death is confirmed to be murder, as a machete was found near his decomposing body, the search for Sonam continues in full swing across the dense forest terrain. Here’s what the authorities have found so far.

A stained raincoat

In what could be a significant lead, police have recovered a black raincoat near Mawkma Road in Sohra that may have belonged to Sonam.

East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, Vivek Syiem, told NDTV that the coat was wet and had visible stains, but whether those stains are blood will only be known after forensic tests.

“We recovered a wet raincoat. There are certain stains on it, but we cannot confirm if those are blood stains. Only forensic tests will determine that,” he said.

Investigators are now checking the coat against video footage of Sonam before she went missing, to see if it matches what she was wearing.

“We will compare with the footage that we have, whether it belongs to the missing woman or not, and only after some time can we confirm it. Even the size is also XXXL,” Syiem added.

The search operation is ongoing but has been made more difficult by the weather, Syiem said. On Wednesday, teams combed through the dense forest in and around the Wei Sawdong Falls area, but heavy rainfall hampered the search operation and slowed their progress.

“Many groups are involved — more than 50 to 60 people from the NDRF, SDRF, fire and emergency services, SIT, SOT, and also local volunteers are searching for her,” the officer said.

A last phone call

One of the most important clues so far is an audio clip, believed to be the couple’s last contact with their family before vanishing.

In the recording, accessed by India Today, Sonam Raghuvanshi can be heard speaking to her mother-in-law as the couple trekked through a forested trail, reportedly on their way to Meghalaya’s famed double-decker living root bridges in Sohra.

“We’re climbing right now… will talk later,” Sonam is heard saying. Her mother-in-law responds, “Today must be your fast,” to which Sonam replies, “Yes, it is. But I won’t break my fast just for this outing.”

The conversation then takes a slightly concerned tone as Sonam describes the tough terrain they were navigating. “We’re in a dense forest, nothing is available here. The climb is steep. I had told him (Raja) not to go, but he never listens. I’m exhausted. The food here isn’t good either. It’s hard to breathe while walking,” she says in the clip.

In another recording, Raja is heard speaking to his mother, telling her they had just reached the top and were eating fruits. His mother, missing them both, asks, “Why did you go up the mountain? Why haven’t you shared a video?” Raja explains that there’s no internet connectivity. When she asks when they plan to return, he says only two days of the trip remain.

A woman’s white shirt found near Raja’s body

That phone call turned out to be the last time anyone heard from them. When Sonam and Raja stopped responding, their worried family members made frantic calls and eventually travelled to Shillong to search for them.

After failing to find any trace, they returned to Indore and approached the local police. Soon after, Meghalaya authorities found the couple’s rented scooter parked near a café along the Shillong–Sohra road — the key still hanging in the ignition, as if they had only stepped away for a short while.

Then came the devastating discovery. Eleven days after they disappeared, a police drone located Raja’s decomposed body at the bottom of a gorge near Wei Sawdong Falls. His brother identified him by a tattoo on his arm bearing his name.

Near Raja’s body, police recovered several items: a white shirt believed to belong to a woman, a strip of medicine, part of a mobile phone’s LCD screen, a smartwatch, and most chillingly, a machete.

Police confirmed that Raja had been murdered. The post-mortem showed he had suffered multiple deep wounds caused by a sharp object. East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem later said it was likely a local tree-cutting tool known as a “dao.”

A case of homicide has now been registered. But while Raja’s murder has been confirmed, Sonam’s whereabouts remain a mystery.

“It is very unusual… while we found Raja’s body, there is no trace at all of Sonam. She seems to have vanished, despite the vast and relentless search operation,” SP Syiem told reporters.

Family calls for a CBI probe

As the mystery deepens and questions continue to mount, the families of Raja and Sonam are demanding that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They believe the couple may have been abducted, robbed, and murdered.

Speaking to a news agency, Raja’s brother, Vipin Raghuwanshi, said, “We are demanding a CBI investigation into the case. Raja’s body was found nearly 25 kilometres away from where their scooter was parked. We strongly suspect that he was kidnapped and taken to Wei Sawdong Falls.”

According to a report by India Today, a large poster has been installed outside Raja’s Indore residence, urging the authorities to step in. The banner, which features photos of the couple, displays the message, “The soul of Raja appeals to the Central and State Governments – I didn’t die, I was killed. Let the CBI investigate.”

The family hopes this appeal will spark national attention and prompt a deeper probe into what truly happened in Meghalaya’s forests.

With input from agencies