Honeymoon Horror: Was Indore Couple Trapped By Some Gang In Assam Itself To Lead Them To Meghalaya?

The chain of events after the couple visited Assam and had a darshan at famous Kamakhya Devi temple over there has aroused suspicion in Raja and Sonam’s family members’ mind that the couple was stalked and trapped by some gang in Assam itself to lead them to Meghalaya where the gang executed its plan easily in jungles and make good its escape

Bhopal: The newly wed couple from Indore- Raja Raghuvanshi,30, a transport trader and his wife Sonam, 27, had no plan to visit Meghalaya when they set out on their honeymoon nine days of their marriage and they were trapped by some notorious gang, perhaps the gang of human traffickers, operating in the region with impunity , according to Raja’s siblings.

The chain of events after the couple visited Assam and had a darshan at famous Kamakhya Devi temple over there have aroused suspicion in Raja and Sonam’s family members’ mind that the couple was stalked and trapped by some gang in Assam itself to lead them to Meghalaya where the gang executed its plan easily in jungles and make good its escape.

As dead body of Raja has been recovered from a deep gorge at Wei Sawdong falls and his belongings including gold and diamond rings, bracelet, purse etc worth about Rs 10 lakh have been found missing the family members strongly believe that Raja was kidnapped and killed for robbery while Sonam was kidnapped, robbed and was perhaps taken to Bangladesh the border of which is just about 50 kilometers away from the spot where Raja’s dead body was found.

Sonam who is still missing was wearing precious Manglasutra, bracelets and certain other ornaments and the couple had about Rs 40000 in case. Rough weather continues to be big challenge for NDRF, SDRF and SOT teams assisted by local volunteers to run the search operation smoothly.

NO PLAN TO VISIT MEGHALAYA

Sonam’s parents and Raja’s brothers claim that the couple was about to return home having visited Assam but someone met them at Kamakhya Devi temple after they had had the darshan of the presiding deity over there and told the couple about the scenic beauty of Meghalaya and that too in such an effective manner that Raja couldn’t resist the offer to visit the state particularly to see Cherrapunji and nearby tourism spots.

Honeymoon Horror: If Not Murder Then Where Are My Brother’s Belongings, Asks Vipin Raghuvanshi

Once in Meghalaya, the gang continued to work on its plan. They convinced Raja to visit Sohra (Cherrapunji) and certain waterfalls to make their honeymoon trip a memorable one.

Initially, the couple checked in a hotel in Shillong and it was perhaps on the gang member or members’ advice that they rented a scooty and set off for Mawlakhiat village in Sohra block on May 22 for which they rented a scooty from Shillong itself.

Mawlakhiat village is said to be the main access point to reach Double Decker Living Root Bridge at Nongriat village. Once they reached Mawlakhiat they hired the services of a local guide too named Bha Wansai over there, who took them to Nongriat where they spent night in one Shipara Homestay.

According to police, the couple checked out the Homestay at 6 am the next day (May 23) to return to Mawlakhiat where the scooty was parked.

THEY CHECKED OUT AT UNUSUAL TIME- 5.30 AM

According to Vipin Raghuvanshi, brother of Raja Raghuvanshi, it was not 6 am but 5.30 am when Raja and Sonam checked out of the homestay, that too without the guide. It raises suspicion in his mind that all was not well.

He said, “It was quite unusual that Raja should leave any place as early as 5.30 am when there was no emergency on his part. Why he should leave the homestay so early if not convinced by someone to do it to go somewhere where the two could be easily targeted and overpowered by any gang. Also, why they should leave the place without the guide when they had already hired his services?”

Anyway, said Vipin, it was surprising that no one in the village saw Raja and Sonam returning to the parking lot at Mawlakhiat. Here, doubt is some gang or gangs asked the couple to take any particular route to reach Mawlakhiat where there was no presence of any villager and it was the journey back when they were kidnapped and robbed.

He said Raja’s body was found near Wei Sawdong walls parking lot which was closed for two years. Since it was closed why Raja would go there. It’s clear that someone took Raja and Sonam to the place forcibly.

UNDER GANG’S CONTROL AFTER KIDNAPPING

Vipin said Sonam sent a voice message to his mother (Sonam’s mother-in-law) after 1 pm but she disconnected the phone abruptly. Later, her phone was found constantly switched off. Earlier, Raja had said he was trekking down to a place where they would be no network but, Vipin added, when he reached there in search of Raja and Sonam he had no network problem in his phone. This also suggested that there was something unusual which had happened and he now believed that they were already kidnapped by any gang by then. Another example was that Sonam and Raja’s mobile phones, four in number (Each had two mobile phones each) were constantly found switched off.

Honeymoon Horror: If Not Murder Then Where Are My Brother’s Belongings, Asks Vipin Raghuvanshi

Raja’s another brother Sachin said the GPS fitted in the scooty his brother had rented suggested zero speed near the parking lot about 2 pm. Later, its speed was shown at 40-50 km per hour.

This was the time, he suspected, that Raja and Sonam were kidnapped. Speed of the scooty as obtained through GPS- decreasing to zero and then 40-50 per hour after 2.30 pm suggested that loot, kidnapping and murder took place between 2 pm and 2.30 pm on May 23 and later someone from among the gang members took the scooty to drop it about 25 kilometers away near Sohrarim village perhaps in a bid to mislead police.

A new dao (It is like a Machete or sword used by Khasi tribe for cutting trees etc.) recovered from near the dead body of Raja and which is said to be the murder weapon suggests that a new dao was purchased for the crime again in a bid to mislead police. Criminals want police to believe that the crime has been committed by such persons who are not the people from the area or from any old gang.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING GANG FROM BANGLADESH?

Expressing dissatisfaction over local police’s investigation and its pace Vipin and Sachin both said a human trafficking gang seemed to be involved in the crime.

Vipin said, “Whatever police and government in Meghalaya may say anything to save the state’s image the fact is during their (Vipin and Sachin Raghuvanshi)’s visit to Meghalaya they came to know that there were gangs which were active in the region, who target the pairs- who can be a husband and wife pair, brother and sister or mother and son pair. These gangs rob and kill males and then kidnap the females to take them to Bangladesh and push them into flesh trade. It’s not that the local police or the government is unaware of the fact but they are sitting idle as if nothing was going on.”

Honeymoon Horror: Indore Trader’s Body Found In Shillong, Wife Still Missing, Murder Case Registered

POOR POLICE INVESTIGATION 

He said the local police’s pace of investigation could be gauged from the fact that the police swung into action at least three to four days after disappearance of the couple and it was only when Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav spoke to Meghalaya CM, Indore commissioner of police spoke to the police authorities in Meghalaya and Indore’s Member of Parliament Shankar Lalwani visited the state to speak to the authorities that the police swung into action to a certain extent but even after a fortnight there is no sign of Sonam.

He said the CCTV footage of the Shillong hotel was obtained by police now 11 days after the crime whereas it should have been collected in the very beginning of the investigation. There was no questioning by police either with coffee vendor, guide, homestay owner or any other person so far.

That’s why, he said, it’s a fit case for CBI probe and also because there appeared to be an international gang of human traffickers involved in the heinous crime. The local police can’t do justice to the investigation.