While there has been no headway in the search for Sonam Raghuvanshi, new information has come to light — the missing Indore couple was seen with three other tourists while trekking back up from Nongriat village (Double Decker Living Root Bridge).
This revelation was made by Albert Pde, a tour guide from Mawlakhiat village — the same village where the couple had parked their rented scooter on May 22.
Two journalists travelled to Mawlakhiat after observing that the official search operation had stagnated. There was a need to hear from those who may have last seen the couple.
While speaking to the reporters, Albert Pde recalled that he saw the couple on the morning of May 23. “I left from the starting point around 7 am, and around 10 am, I met them. They were midway through the trek, returning from Nongriat, and were accompanied by three other male tourists. Raja was walking with the three men, while Sonam was trailing behind,” said Pde.
Asked if he noticed anything suspicious, Pde replied in the negative, noting that the group was conversing in Hindi — a language he doesn’t understand well. “If they had been speaking in English, I might have understood,” he added.
He also said he didn’t speak to them during the trek, as he was heading downhill and had already interacted with the couple on the night of May 22, when he had offered his services as a guide. The couple had declined.
“On the 22nd, I had gone down to Nongriat to drop off two tourists and came back late because they were very slow — it took them nearly two hours to trek down. That night, I met the couple and asked if they needed a guide for the 23rd. They said no,” said Pde.
When asked if the people walking with Raja appeared friendly, Pde confirmed that they did. “They were talking to each other, and the girl was walking slowly behind.” Asked if Sonam appeared exhausted — as she had mentioned to her mother-in-law that she was fasting — Pde said he couldn’t say for sure. “She had already trekked halfway, so she must have been tired. I can’t say much.”
Pde, who was initially hesitant to speak to the journalists, shared that he had been emotionally affected by hateful comments on social media and the portrayal of Sohra as a crime-prone area. The journalists had to convince him to share his side of the story.
“We feel bad and sad about this. Since childhood, we were never exposed to such incidents. As children of God-fearing mothers, we were brought up with certain values. This kind of accusation and misinterpretation really saddens us,” he said.
The journalists also spoke with Bhakupar Wansai, the guide who had accompanied the couple on May 22 to Nongriat.
“I met the couple just a few meters from the starting point. I asked if they needed a guide to go down, and they agreed. It was sometime in the afternoon. Raja didn’t speak English, so I spoke to Sonam. I asked if they planned to return the same day, and Sonam said they would stay overnight at Nongriat. I offered to guide them back the next day, but she said she knew the route. So I just dropped them off at Shipara Homestay and returned to the village alone,” Wansai recalled.
There are about 20 registered tour guides in Mawlakhiat village. According to them, it takes most tourists approximately two hours to trek down to the Double Decker Living Root Bridge and about three hours to return.
While gathering more information from locals, it was found that the parking lot in Mawlakhiat lacks basic infrastructure. There is no proper system in place — not even CCTV cameras. The approach road is in poor condition, and power connectivity is inconsistent.
Wanbha Mohali, the parking in-charge at Mawlakhiat, said he didn’t see who collected the scooter on May 23, as there were many tourists that day and the team was busy. “They didn’t leave the helmets at the counter. If they had, we might have been able to identify who picked them up,” said Mohali.
Asked if he saw the three men who were with Raja, Mohali said he vaguely remembered they were on a bike but couldn’t recall the number plate. “The problem is that we in the village don’t have a suspicious mindset. We provide parking and hand over receipts but rarely note down number plates. From now on, we will maintain records. This has been an eye-opener for us,” he said.
He also noted that he noticed in the evening that the scooter was no longer there and assumed the couple had left.
Asked how the negativity around Sohra has affected them, Mohali said tourism has been severely impacted. “The number of visitors has gone down, especially with how Meghalaya is being defamed on social media. For us, we don’t even fully know what happened. What’s shocking is how the scooter reached Sohrarim and the body was found at Weisawdong — it’s very surprising,” he said.
“We feel very hurt by the accusations against our area and our state. Just because we’re from Sohra, we’re being called criminals. But when tourists come here, we treat them like family and welcome them with open hearts. When they drop keys or belongings, we keep them safe and return them. But now, we’re being labelled as ‘crime-prone hills,’” Mohali added, visibly disheartened.
The couple reportedly checked out of Shipara Homestay at 6 am on May 23. The following night, around 9 pm on May 24, the Sordar of Sohrarim village informed police about an abandoned scooter. Officers traced its ownership via an e-challan record, leading them to the rental agency, which confirmed it had been hired by the missing couple.
Raja’s body was discovered on June 2 near Weisawdong Falls at the Riat Arliang parking lot in Umblai, Sohra. His wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, remains untraceable. Police have confirmed that the case is now being treated as a homicide. The families of the couple, devastated by the incident, have demanded a CBI probe, citing the mysterious circumstances and lack of clarity surrounding the events between the morning of May 23 and the night of May 24.
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