GUWAHATI: A tourist couple from Indore was reported missing in Meghalaya, the police said on Monday.
Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam had hired a scooty from the state capital Shillong and set out for Sohra (Cherrapunjee) in East Khasi Hills district. Raja’s brother Govind reported their disappearance to Meghalaya Police.
After enquiry, the police learnt that the couple visited Nongriat on Friday and later, Mawlakhiat. There has been no trace of them since. Their phones have also remained switched off.
“We sent search parties to adjoining areas and alerted village headmen. The search is still on,” East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem told TNIE.
There are many trekking trails, water bodies in the Sohra region and the forest there is also very thick. The SP said, “We don’t know if they went on a trek to any place.”
This is the second such incident in Meghalaya in recent times. Early April, a tourist from Hungary died and his body was recovered from a village in the Sohra area, 12 days after he was reported missing.
After Puskas Zsolt’s disappearance, the Hungarian Embassy had filed a missing complaint report with Meghalaya police. The police had then ruled out any foul play in Zsolt’s death and suspected he might have died after a fall.
After the incident, the district administration had 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.