Indore honeymooner's family fears missing woman trafficked to Bangladesh; grainy CCTV footage adds to mystery

Meghalaya: With the search for the missing Indore couple entering its 11th day, a new CCTV footage has added more questions to the mystery around the baffling case of Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder and the disappearance of his wife Sonam in Meghalaya.

Captured just a day before they vanished, the grainy CCTV footage shows the newlyweds checking into a Shillong hotel on May 22 — the last confirmed sighting of them together. What added to the trail of clues was a deserted scooter, and Raja’s body discovered in a remote ditch.

According to a report by TOI, Sonam's family has also sought a CBI probe into the missing Indore couple's case, and asked the Meghalaya CM to treat it as a case of abduction, and not look for her dead body. Sonam's brother Govind fears that she has been trafficked to Bangladesh.

What does the CCTV footage show?

The CCTV footage shows Sonam Raghuvanshi and her husband Raja checking out from the hotel reception on the evening of May 22.

The couple is believed to have moved into a hotel in Sohra, 120 km away, and proceeded towards Maulakaya village in the Cherrapunjee area, after which they were never seen again.

How did the incident unfold?

The couple had rented a scooter, which was discovered abandoned on May 24 in Sohrarim, East Khasi Hills. On Monday, June 2, Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was recovered from a nearby ditch, located with the help of a drone. Police also found his phone and a machete suspected to have been used in the murder, as per reports.

Sonam's bag, mobile, other items missing

Govind also told TOI that Sonam's belongings, including her bag and phone, remain missing.

While the police claim the last known location of the couple's phones was near the Double Decker bridge in Meghalaya's Nongriat, Govind pointed out that Raja had made a social media post shortly before his death. He said that the final signal from his phone was traced to the spot where his body was eventually found — in a gorge at Sohrarim near Cherrapunji.

Apart from Govind, who suspects his sister might have been abducted and trafficked to Bangladesh, Raja's brother Vipin also highlighted that the last location of the couple borders Bangladesh, raising the possibility of cross-border human trafficking.