Efforts on to rescue missing couple from MP: Meghalaya CM
Shillong, May 29 (UNI) Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday said efforts are on to rescue the missing newly-wed couple from Madhya Pradesh who disappeared during their honeymoon in Sohra, also known as Cherrapunjee, a popular tourist destination in Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya police along with State Disaster Response Force and villagers have intensified their search and rescue operation for 27-year-old Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam from Indore who have been missing since May 24.
'We are hopeful that we will get positive results and we will be able to find the couple. I am personally monitoring the situation and we are trying our best to find the couple,' Sangma said in a video statement.
Terming the disappearance of the couple as a 'very unfortunate situation', the Chief Minister said that he had spoken to his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Mohan Yadav and he had also received a call from Union Home Minister's office.
'I am personally monitoring the situation on a daily basis. The entire district administration (East Khasi Hills), the state police and the entire village community are on job to find out the couple,' he said.
'The search and rescue team is battling pre-monsoon showers, and the entire belt is known for heavy rainfall. But we are giving our best to ensure that we are able to find the couple,' the Chief Minister said, adding that the government was using latest technology to trace the newlywed.
Police said the couple arrived at Mawlakhiat village from Shillong on a rented Scooty to visit the double-decker root bridge in Nongriat on May 22.
They engaged a local guide and stayed overnight at Shipara Homestay. They checked out the next day at about 6 am and intended to return to Mawlakhiat.
The couple then left their luggage at another homestay, Manha Homestay at a different location (Saitsohpen) as there was no vacancy and went out to look for accommodation elsewhere. But surprisingly they headed back to Nongriat without their luggage.
On May 24, the Sordar of Sohrarim reported an abandoned Scooty. It was traced to the couple via E-challan and an FIR was filed by relatives.
This is the second such incident in Meghalaya since April when a 41-year-old Hungarian tourist, Puskas Zsolt, was found dead near Ramdait village along the trail to Nongrait village , 12 days after he was reported missing .
Police ruled out any foul play in the Zsolt's death and suspected he might have died after a fall.
After that incident, the Meghalaya government issued an advisory for the safety of tourists. They were urged to exercise extreme caution near cliffs, jungles, and water bodies, and hire certified local guides.
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