Influential Shillong-based civil society group CoMSO on Monday demanded an apology from the family of Sonam, who was arrested in the murder case of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, alleging that they defamed the people of Meghalaya and tried to tarnish the image of a state dependent on tourism.
The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) chairman Roy Kupar Synrem alleged that Sonam’s family made calculated efforts to politicise a personal tragedy, exploit the press, and generate anti-Meghalaya sentiments nationwide.
He also renewed the demand for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system, maintaining that it would help in keeping a tab on people entering the state and regulate the flow of tourists, which would ensure greater security.
Police nabbed five people, including Sonam, in the murder of Raghuvanshi, who was killed while honeymooning in Sohra in the East Khasi Hills district.
Raghuvanshi and his wife went missing on May 23. His body was found in a gorge on June 2, while a search for his wife was underway. Sonam emerged in the early hours in UP’s Ghazipur and surrendered before the police as the investigators nabbed the others allegedly involved in the crime that shook the nation.
Expressing deep distress over attempts to tarnish the image of the people of the state, Synrem said, “We also renew our constitutional, legal, and moral demand for the immediate implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in Meghalaya. The ILP is not merely a regulatory mechanism, a framework that would have pre-empted the chaos, confusion, and defamation that engulfed our state over the past few weeks.”
The ILP system, if implemented, would require visitors to obtain a permit before entering the state.
Synrem lauded the Meghalaya Police for cracking the honeymoon murder case, stating that they worked with unwavering discipline and compassion.
He said the investigation proved that the incident was a “personal crime” and not a communal failing, and that Sohra is not a bad destination for a honeymoon.
Synrem criticised Sonam’s family for making unfounded allegations, “publicly defaming” the dignity of the government and the communities of Meghalaya.
“Their actions went beyond grieving. They made calculated efforts to politicise a personal tragedy, exploit media channels, and generate anti-Meghalaya sentiments nationwide,” he alleged.
“Now that the narratives have collapsed under the weight of facts, they must publicly apologise to the Government of Meghalaya, the Meghalaya Police, the local community of Sohra, and to every citizen whose name was so casually dragged through the mud,” he said.
Claiming that her daughter was “100 per cent innocent”, Somam’s father, Devi Singh Raghuvanshi, demanded a probe by the CBI into the case.
“The Meghalaya Police are giving false statements about my daughter because the state government’s image is getting tarnished due to Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder case,” he alleged.
He further claimed that the Meghalaya Police have no evidence against his daughter that she gave a contract to get her husband killed.
Synrem said, “The people of Meghalaya did not attack any outsider. There was no communal violence. There was no retribution. Our citizens cooperated with the police. They provided information. They offered shelter and supplies to search teams and even opened their homes and churches to facilitate the operation.”
Meghalaya safe for visitors: Paul Lyngdoh
Asserting that Meghalaya is safe for visitors, Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Monday said legal action would be taken against those who harmed the image of the state in the backdrop of the murder of the tourist from Indore.
Raja Raghuvanshi, a resident of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was murdered while honeymooning in the state’s Sohra area. His wife was among the five people arrested in connection with the killing.
Speaking to PTI, Lyngdoh said efforts were made to dent the image of Meghalaya, which is a safe destination for tourists.
“The state government has directed the police to register FIRs to ensure that all these perpetrators are brought to book,” he said.
Raghuvanshi’s murder was the first such case to happen in Sohra in years, he said. “We congratulate the SIT, the mountaineering association, the rock climbing association, and the local people of Sohra, the media fraternity, who, despite very challenging terrain and the slush in the peak of monsoon, recovered the body of Raghuvanshi from the gorge,” he added.
Lyngdoh alleged that people across the country were incited against communities from Meghalaya.
He also said the government will immediately review the entire situation to improve the safety and security of tourists.
Meanwhile, the government has advised homestays and hotels to install CCTV cameras.
“That (installing CCTVs) helps us especially in places where you have high footfalls,” East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said.