'If inner line permit was in place in Meghalaya, details of the three people who allegedly murdered Raja would have been on record.'
Sonam Raghuvanshi chose Meghalaya as the honeymoon destination after marrying Raja Raghuvanshi last month.
At that point of time, Raja's family was bewildered by Sonam's choice for a honeymoon destination and told Raja to change it.
But Sonam had already made the bookings for Meghalaya and the couple proceeded there.
After Raja's body was found in the East Khasi hills the two families blamed residents of Meghalaya for his murder and Sonam's disappearance.
In particular they were harsh on the Meghalaya police and demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation take over the investigation.
On Monday, June 9, 2025, Sonam resurfaced in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and was taken into custody by the police who believe that she had her husband killed in league with her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha.
"Blaming us for a crime in which not a single Meghalaya native was involved was a bad gesture, and the families should apologise," insists Roy Kupar Synrem, president, Hynniewtrep Youth's Council Central Executive Council, who believes that an inner line permit is the need of the hour for Meghalaya.
"When Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh can have an inner line permit," Synrem asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff, "why not Meghalaya?"
Why do you say Sonam and Raja's families defamed Meghalaya?
As soon as news of Sonam and Raja's disappearance hit the national headlines the families reported it to the police and they started searching for them.
During that search, Raja and Sonam's family members started blaming the locals of Meghalaya, saying they were responsible for the couple's disappearance.
Without knowing the facts they jumped to a conclusion and started blaming the locals. They started saying the locals robbed and killed the couple.
They also made a statement that the police of Meghalaya was not doing anything to find them.
But on Monday, after Sonam's appearance and the arrest of the three suspected killers, it became clear that the locals of Meghalaya were not responsible for Raja's death. It was a crime committed by people from outside the state.
But the family cast aspersions on us as a community though we were not involved in Raja's killing.
What is your demand now?
We want Raja and Sonam's families to apologise to the people of Meghalaya. They unnecessarily blamed the people of Meghalaya.
Do you believe Raja's murder defamed Meghalaya?
One person on social media said, 'search for Khasi people across India and kill them in a similar manner as to how Raja Raghuvanshi was killed'. These kinds of posts were circulated on social media after Raja's death. Now, the truth has come out and it is wise for Sonam and Raja's families to apologise to us.
When Raja's body was recovered was there suspicion that locals were involved in his murder?
When Raja's body was recovered, at that point of time Sonam's status was unknown. So, we had apprehensions (about her absence).
When that machete, which was used to kill Raja, was found, we realised it was not the job of a local. The machete was not one that you get in Meghalaya. It was clear that the machete was bought from outside the state.
We realised it was a pre-meditated murder done in Meghalaya to malign the state.
Has any tourist been attacked in Meghalaya ever?
No tourist has ever been attacked in Meghalaya.
14 lakh (1.4 million) tourists visit the state every year and not one case of attack on tourists has occurred in Meghalaya.
Shillong is safe and so are all the tourist spots in Meghalaya.
Tourism is one of the major sources of income for locals so why would they attack or harass tourists? We welcome every tourist who comes to Meghalaya.
There were reports that Sonam may have been abducted and taken to Bangladesh. Did you read any such statement?
Yes, I did. Sonam's family made a statement that their daughter was abducted and taken to Bangladesh.
They made such statements without knowing the facts.
Sonam's father made a statement after her arrest that the Meghalaya police was making up these stories against her. He demanded a CBI inquiry into Raja's death.
You asked for an inner line permit to be introduced in Meghalaya. Why?
This has been the demand of our organisation, only to register the people entering our state.
If this is done, then there will be records as to who entered the state, when, and where they stayed in Meghalaya. After staying in the state and on leaving, there is a record whether that person has left the state or not.
If an inner line permit was in place in Meghalaya, the details of the three people who allegedly murdered Raja would have been easily available. It would have been on record.
Moreover, illegal immigration is going in the state unabatedly due to Meghalaya's porous borders.
Recently, a Bangladeshi was arrested in Meghalaya; he used to smuggle people from Bangladesh and settle them down in different parts of India.
We are not against fellow Indians entering Meghalaya but we just want regulation. Meghalaya has a microscopic community and the Khasi community has a population of 14 to 15 lakhs.
If there is unregulated illegal migration of Bangladeshis from across the border then there is a threat to our demographic structure.
Would the inner line permit system have prevented Raja's murder?
Yes, inner line permit is a deterrent to carry out crime. It will be in the mind of the murderer that his record is with the Meghalaya authorities before he entered the state.
In the case of Raja's murder, they killed him on May 24, left Meghalaya on the same day and proceeded to Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
What about the other north eastern states, they have inner line permits. Don't murders happen there?
Other states like Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have inner line permit. And you got to know why they chose to murder Raja in Meghalaya, because there is no inner line permit here.
The killers knew they would not be traced as they did not have to register their names before entering the state. They just needed to commit the crime and leave the state.
And this is not the first case. In April, a gang of outsiders entered Shillong, looted an ATM and disappeared with Rs 28 lakhs. They were professional gangsters. There is no trace of them now.
Outsiders come, commit crimes and disappear.
Why was Meghalaya left out of the inner line permit system?
We too don't know. We have been fighting for inner line permit for the last 40 years.
Manipur got ILP in 2019 if I am not mistaken.
ILP is a political issue. The central government tells us that Meghalaya is a transit state and people use this state to travel to other states like Manipur, Nagaland or even Mizoram. Therefore, implementation of ILP is different.
We have been telling the central government that people who want to travel to other states can take the national highways. They don't need to take ILP because they are only passing through the national highway.
The Meghalaya assembly passed a resolution for ILP in 2019 but the home ministry till now says they are examining the matter.
We want ILP for Meghalaya because we do not want a demographic change in the state.
We have only three tribes -- Khasi, Garo and Jaintias -- and there has been no inter-tribal conflict till date.
ILP is just to regulate the movement of people.
During British times we had ILP but after Independence ILP got withdrawn from Meghalaya but was given to other north eastern states.
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