The Madhya Pradesh man, whose body was recovered from a deep gorge 11 days after he and his wife went missing during their trip to Meghalaya, was allegedly murdered with a machete, police officers said, as the crime sent shockwaves across the northeastern state.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police probing the case on Tuesday said the "dao" (machete) that was allegedly used to kill the man and his mobile phone were recovered from near the spot where the body was found.
"We have recovered the victim's phone and also the weapon that was used to carry out the crime. The weapon was a 'dao'," East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Syiem said. "It is a clear case of homicide. The person was murdered, there is no doubt about that."
The victim, Raja Raghuvanshi, and his wife Sonam from Indore were on their honeymoon when they went missing on May 23. The couple arrived in Nongriat a day earlier and were last spotted checking out of Shipara Homestay. Their rented scooty was found abandoned at Sohrarim a day after they went missing.
On Monday, Raja's body was found, with the help of a drone, inside a deep gorge below the Weisawdong Parking Lot at Riat Arliang. The whereabouts of Sonam remain unknown, police said.
"Sonam Raghuvanshi is yet to be found. Tomorrow, we will resume our search in the same area and in the adjoining areas. The gorge extends quite a distance - nearly one to two kilometers - and it's aligned with the current site of recovery. Our priority right now is to find Sonam," the SP said.
The victim's family demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), even as police said they have registered a murder case.
"We demand a CBI probe in the case. His (Raja) body was found 25 kilometers away from where the vehicle (a rented scooty) was parked. We suspected that he was kidnapped (and taken to Weisawdong falls). It is not possible for my brother and his wife to die by suicide. The local police are not ready to listen to us when we say it is a case of kidnapping, looting and murder," the victim's brother Vipin Raghuvanshi said.
The couple's family had earlier offered a reward of Rs 5 lakh to anyone who can provide information on their whereabouts.
State Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh expressed shock over the "unprecedented" incident but urged the public to wait for the police to complete its probe. "We are really shocked by what has transpired. This incident was unprecedented. No such crime has taken place in the past. We are yet to know the full story and cannot share details on what happened," he said.
Amid concerns among the tourists, Mr Lyngdoh said: "We cannot jump the gun. We will ensure the guilty is charged. Law will take its course. As far as safety in the tourism sector is concerned, if a man goes missing in Thailand, it does not mean Thailand is unsafe for tourists," he said.
Last week, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said he was "personally monitoring" the administration and police's efforts to trace the couple. Sources said the matter is being probed by the top brass in the state government. Mr Sangma is also in constant touch with the search agencies and concerned authorities, they said.
Besides the police, the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force and a Special Operations Team are involved in the search operations.
