Shillong, June 24 (IANS) A senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader James Syiemiong, on Tuesday, urged the Meghalaya government to build a “Raja Memorial Viewpoint” as a symbolic landmark of tourism and awareness in Sohra (Cherrapunji) in the state’s East Khasi Hills district.

Indore-based transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi (28) married Sonam Raghuvanshi (24) on May 11 in Indore and the couple came to Meghalaya for their honeymoon on May 20.

The couple went missing on May 23 and Raja’s mutilated body was recovered on June 2 from a deep gorge near a waterfall in the Sohra area of East Khasi Hills district.

He was hacked to death by three men using two machetes near a parking lot close to the famous Weisawdong falls in Sohra on May 23, the day Raja and his wife Sonam went missing.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police has so far arrested eight people, including the victim’s wife Sonam and her alleged lover Raj Singh Kushwaha, 21, in connection with the murder.

BJP leader Syiemiong in a letter to the Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma urged to establish a “Raja Memorial Viewpoint” as a symbolic landmark of tourism and awareness in Sohra (Cherrapunji).

The letter addressed to the Chief Minister through the office of State Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh, Syiemiong, who is the former district BJP president, has requested the state government to develop the “Raja Memorial Viewpoint” at or near the location associated with the honeymoon tragedy.

The proposed memorial would not only honour the victim and their families but also serve as a tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all parts of India who wish to pay tribute. The memorial viewpoint can become a civic education site promoting public awareness on women’s safety, tourist security, and moral responsibility,” Syiemiong said in his letter.

The Meghalaya SIT teams has arrested eight accused in the sensational murder case from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

They include Anand Singh Kurmi, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Lokendra Singh Tomar, Silome James and Balla Ahirwar, besides Sonam and her reported lover Raj Singh Kushwaha.

All the accused are now under Meghalaya Police’s custody and judicial custody.

–IANS

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