Shillong, 4 June : East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, Vivek Syiem, on Wednesday confirmed that a raincoat had been recovered from an area which is 5 meters away from Mawkma road in Sohra, but said it is too early to determine whether it is linked to the missing woman, Sonam Raghuvanshi.
“We recovered a wet raincoat. There are certain stains on it, but we cannot confirm if those are blood stains—only forensic tests will determine that,” Syiem said.
He also stated that they are checking if the raincoat matches the one worn by Sonam in available video footage. “We will compare with the footages that we have, whether it belongs to the female or not, and only after some time we can confirm. Even the size also is 3XL,” he added.
Regarding the search operation, Syiem informed that teams combed through the dense undergrowth in the Wei Sawdong area on Wednesday. However, heavy rainfall hampered progress. Despite the weather, search efforts will continue in the surrounding areas.
“Many groups are involved—more than 50 to 60 people from the NDRF, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, SIT, SOT, and also local volunteers,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of using drones due to a brief respite from the rain, Syiem noted that the weather had only recently improved. “It was only recently the weather cleared a bit, otherwise the weather was bad and torrential rain was making it very difficult, even though we used the NESAC drone,” he said.
He explained that it was through drone assistance that the body of the male victim had earlier been discovered. “When it cleared up we could find the body and other evidence. Hopefully the weather clears up,” he added.
Addressing the spread of speculation and rumours, Syiem said, “A lot of theories will be there. The SIT is formed. We will gather evidence and get to the facts of the matter.”
“All possibilities are being considered. We will proceed based on facts, the circumstances, and evidence collected from the crime scene. From there, we will know which direction to take,” he added.
On the status of the post-mortem, Syiem said, “Post-mortem was done yesterday and we are yet to get the report.”
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will resume its search for Sonam Raghuvanshi tomorrow, as poor visibility and slippery conditions forced the team to halt operations on Wednesday.
The NDRF team had descended around 700 feet into the Arliang gorge near Wei Sawdong — the same area where the body of Raja Raghuvanshi was discovered earlier.
Inspector Lalringsan of the NDRF said the terrain is particularly challenging due to heavy mist and unstable ground, unlike conditions in places like Kashmir or Uttarakhand.
He confirmed that the team will return to continue the search at the same location tomorrow.
