OpIndia’s false Bangladesh trafficking claim on Sonam Raghuvanshi case backfires
Mohammad Zubair highlights propaganda
Indore: As the investigation into Sonam Raghuvanshi’s disappearance and her husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder unfolded, extremist groups and media outlets like OpIndia spread false claims that Sonam had been trafficked to Bangladesh. These baseless allegations sought to stir communal hatred against the indigenous communities of Northeast India. However, official police findings have thoroughly disproved these narratives.
Sonam and Raja, a couple from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, had first visited the Kamakhya temple in Assam before proceeding to Meghalaya for their honeymoon. After a few days, they went missing, leading to a large-scale search. Raja’s body was later found near a hillside in Meghalaya with post-mortem reports confirming his murder by a wood-cutting machine. Sonam was traced and arrested in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, where she was found safe and questioned by police. She is now accused of hiring men to murder her husband.
Before the facts emerged, right-wing platforms such as OpIndia propagated a false story claiming Sonam had been trafficked to Bangladesh.
Prominent fact checker Mohammad Zubair addressed these false narratives in a recent social media post, pointing out how such misinformation exploits tragedies for communal propaganda. Zubair reminded his followers that Sonam was safely found in Ghazipur, not Bangladesh, thus debunking trafficking rumours.
Research scholar Anshuman Chaudhary also noted on X, how extremist factions attempted to manipulate this case to fuel ethnic hatred and division. The investigation revealed a more complex truth: Sonam is implicated along with others in Raja’s murder, currently under police custody.
Sonam Raghuvanshi who went missing in Meghalaya was arrested from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly murdering her husband. But here, propaganda website @OpIndia_com earlier claimed that the wife was suspected to be trafficked to Bangladesh. pic.twitter.com/K6D2BU7Uzm
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) June 9, 2025
The whole incident also sparked intense racism against the Northeast. Twitter was full of comments about how savage the region’s tribals are & how “NE, like Kashmir, should be avoided.” Sanghis had their own sideshow on trafficking to Bangladesh. Cesspool of a public discourse. https://t.co/Vv69kZdML6
— Angshuman Choudhury (@angshuman_ch) June 9, 2025
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
