The year 2025 will be remembered for its share of politics, cabinet reshuffle and the drama associated with it, natural disasters, and a crime that made national headlines for weeks.
The high-profile murder of Raja Raghuvanshi by his wife, her lover and three henchmen, during their honeymoon in Sohra kept the pot boiling for weeks. Sohra and Meghalaya’s names earned disrepute for no fault of theirs. However, the Meghalaya Police cracked the case within record time to salvage the state and its people’s reputation.
Crimes related to women and children continued to hog the limelight. The murder of two children and several cases of rapes, murders and mob violence overshadowed the positives for the state earned through tourism-specific festivals and projects.
2025 will also be remembered for its quota of controversies, corruption, coal nexus, particularly the issue of missing coal, concerns over railway projects, and the unfulfilled demands for ILP and recognition of Khasi and Garo languages. Some issues/projects that remained unresolved last year continue to hang fire like the border dispute, expansion of Umroi Airport, new Assembly building, Shillong-Dawki road, relocation of Harijan Colony residents, among others.
As Meghalaya heads into 2026, the citizens keep their hopes alive in anticipation of a corruption-free state with better governance and a better future for the state and themselves.
Here are some of the top headlines of 2025…
Jan 4: Consensus on conditional entry for Hindu devotees into Mawjymbuin cave
Jan 5: State among ‘Fast Movers’ into logistics performance
Jan 6: CAG detects anomalies in appointments in KHADC
Jan 7: Students chase out NEHU registrar after his stealthy return to campus
Meghalaya adds over 52,000 new voters in one year
Jan 9: Church body slams Christian consecration for state varsity
Jan 10: People take to street, thwart hearing on proposed landfill project
Jan 11: Conrad scotches rumour on Land Transfer Act dilution
Secretariat shifts to Sohra for Maiden cabinet retreat
Jan 12: MPCC chief Vincent Pala’s bid to revive weakened Congress fortune
Jan 13: Lack of Army clearance delays Shillong-Dawki road project
Jan 14: First state varsity begins with eight GH colleges
Jan 16: Govt backtracks on investment plan
Jan 18: NEHU VC faces ‘corruption’ charges of Rs 94 crore
Jan 20: After 72 years, KHADC passes law defining powers of local bodies
Jan 21: Curfew clamped after 12 injured in police-mob clash in Mawkynrew
Jan 22: Govt plans massive investment of Rs 15,500 cr in New Shillong
Vendors oppose relocation from Khyndai Lad, threaten agitation
Jan 23: Meghalaya Lokayukta orders probe against GHADC CEM, others over alleged misappropriation of project funds
Jan 24: Man threatens to plants bombs in city, arrested
Jan 28: Base laid for Rs 400-cr Greater Tura Urban Water Supply
Jan 29: Katakey panel confirms coal illegalities in SGH
St. Anthony’s LP School building demolition: HC holds Don Bosco Technical School in contempt
Jan 30: Byrnihat’s air quality worst in India, says central pollution board report
Jan 31: Illegal coke plants: ED conducts searches in Guwahati, Kolkata
Feb 1: Headmen castigate VPP for filing complaint with DCA as controversy over denial of permission for public meeting hots up
Feb 4: Meghalaya railway conundrum – Onus on state to convince stakeholders: Rly minister
Feb 5: Coal syndicate running riot in Ri-Bhoi, says RTI activist
Feb 6: Air pollution: Six Byrnihat industrial units shut down
Feb 8: 12 women among 158 contestants in KHADC polls
Feb 9: Justice Katakey finds evidence of illegal coal mining in SGH
Feb 10: Fate of railway project in Meghalaya hangs in the balance
Feb 11: Remove proxy teachers or face action: Govt to schools
Feb 12: No let-up in illegal coal mining activities, says Katakey panel
Ri-Bhoi’s Eri Weave bags Shark Tank deal
Feb 13: KSU: Railway projects in state a closed chapter
Ed Sheeran enthrals Shillong
Feb 14: NPP denies hand in illegal mining
Feb 15: Sixth Schedule Vs Article 371 debate rages ahead of elections
Feb 18: Rs 400-cr boost for state tourism sector
Feb 19: KSU warns of extreme steps to stop railways
HNLC making fresh bids to recruit youth: Report
Feb 23: USTM Chancellor in Assam police net
Feb 24: VPP captures KHADC, MDA retains JHADC
Feb 27: First-timer Shemborlang Rynjah to head KHADC, two women in EC
CM gives clean chit to USTM; BJP seeks probe
March 2: Discussion under way over Khasi as official language
March 4: Investment Promotion Bill introduced in Assembly
March 5: 12 Opp MDCs form alliance in KHADC
March 6: Conrad presents ‘people’s budget with fiscal deficit of Rs 1,970 crore
March 7: Move for sacking Justice Katakey
March 8: Byrnihat second-most polluted after Delhi, says latest CREA report
March 9: Fear of influx fuels anti-rail rant in GH
March 10: VPP opposes govt’s move for ouster of Justice Katakey
March 11: CM bins ‘debt trap’ slur
March 12: Now Byrnihat owns world’s most polluted ‘city’ title
KSU’s anti-Investment Promotion Act march to Assembly stopped
March 14: After public outrage, MDA govt retracts on land lease by MIPA
March 16: Govt drops plan to remove Justice Katakey
March 17: 13-year-old Meghalaya student dies in ‘illegal’ Karnataka hostel
March 18: State team rushes to Karnataka to probe teenager’s death
March 19: Second Meghalaya boy dies in Karnataka, school shut
March 22: Six arrested in Karnataka food poisoning deaths
March 23: Cops gun down kidnapper in WGH, rescue businessman
March 26: Aerial survey finds 1.92 lakh MT of illegal coal in 4 districts
March 27: CAG unearths financial lapses in KHADC
Prof Sherwin May Sungoh takes charge as NEHU Pro-VC
March 28: CAG report reveals illegal appointments in KHADC
March 29: VPP suspends Adelbert Nongrum for ‘anti-party activities’
March 30: Ex-GNLA cadre arrested 14 years after murdering schoolteacher
April 2: NE leaders flay Bangladesh’s sinister eyes on Seven Sisters
April 3: SC quashes HC order against The Shillong Times
April 4: State failing to check illegal coal mining, VPP MP tells LS
April 5: FIR against HYC leaders over bid to shut NEIGRIHMS Director’s office
April 6: Shillong, Jowai students bag top position in SSLC 2025 merit list
April 8: NPP’s Kharlukhi bats for VPP on KHADC nominated MDC issue
April 9: Amidst criticism, govt justifies use of CM IMPACT guidebooks
April 10: Anti-Aadhaar protest in city; govt steers clear of imbroglio
April 11: Facing pressure, NEHU Pro-VC Sherwin May Sungoh steps down
April 12: NEIGRIHMS ruckus: Govt warns pressure groups against breaking the law
April 14: VPP flags neglect of opposition legislators by MDA government
April 15: Pursuing coal illegalities with Centre: VPP MP
April 17: Activist demands CBI inquiry into road project ‘irregularities’
Facing opposition, MIDC drops Ri-Bhoi Industrial Estate plan
April 21: Arrest of Bangladeshis at Nongpoh unearths pan-India crime network
April 22: Meghalaya mourns Pope Francis’s demise
April 23: Violations galore in NST land acquisition, finds RTI
April 25: Months after Shillong Mini Mela, vendors left unpaid; officials remain tight- lipped
April 26: Rat-hole mining in state rampant: ED
April 27: NEHU teachers condemn attack on faculty, demand justice
April 28: Illegal mining: VPP wants ED to conduct raids in coal-rich districts
April 29: NEHUSU chief in 7-day judicial custody in faculty assault case
Prez Murmu confers Padma Shri on Prof David Syiemlieh
April 30: Khasi, Garo languages to be integrated in digital platforms
May 3: KSU bars Director’s entry into NEIGRIHMS campus
May 4: Ri-Bhoi Police bust HNLC racket, arrest two
May 5: Railway Ministry not to give up on Khasi, Jaintia hills
May 6: NEIGRIHMS row: KSU temporarily suspends stir
May 7: HNLC claims Sniawbhalang Dhar previously funded group during his tenure as minister in Congress-led govt
May 9: Congress asks Dhar to resign for allegedly funding HNLC
May 11: VPP picks holes in CM IMPACT guidebook
May 14: TMC chief urges Education Ministry to sack NEHU VC
May 15: NE states likely to get investment of over 2.5 lakh crore
May 18: Living root heritage, cultural tourism in Pynursla projects; CM takes stock
May 19: Allegation of gross financial irregularities in Lakadong Turmeric Project under MBDA
May 20: Mob torches 15 Star Cement trucks after fatal road mishap
May 21: State directs crackdown on illegal immigrants
May 22: Central officials to review NEHU situation today
May 23: Productive: Central officials on meetings with NEHU faculties
May 25: LoP Mukul Sangma demands inquiry into politico-bureaucratic nexus
May 27: Businessman alleges extortion, death threat from HNLC (Letter warns of blasts in Iew Mawlong, Iewduh, and Mawbah
May 28: NEHU bodies issue diktat to EC against attending Delhi meet
May 29: No crime angle in Indore tourist couple’s disappearance: Paul
May 30: No trace of missing couple; CM receives call from MHA, says doing all to trace tourists
May 31: No trace of Indore tourist couple, search operations hit by rains
Govt pans national media for ‘crime slur’ on Sohra
June 1: Six die in rain-related incidents in state
June 3: Raja Raghuvanshi’s body recovered; EKH police register homicide case
Border talks: Assam, Meghalaya to erect pillars in 5 border areas by Aug 15
June 4: Murder weapon adds grim twist as families seek CBI probe into Indore couple case
June 5: Tourist’s murder: Conrad promises justice, steers clear of CBI inquiry
June 6: Brother suspects Sonam Raghuvanshi abducted by locals in Sohra
June 8: No need for CBI probe into Indore couple’s case: Paul
June 9: NCW directs Meghalaya DGP to submit detailed report within three days
June 10: Its honeymoon bride Sonam behind groom Raja’s murder
Call for action against those who defamed Meghalaya
June 11: SIT promises watertight case against Sonam, other accused
Apologise or face FIR, Sohra tells national media houses
June 13: All five accused confess to roles in Raja’s murder
June 14: CoMSO refreshes demand for ILP, SITs with surprise rally
June 17: Honeymoon murder case: Crime scene reconstruction likely today
June 18: SIT recovers second murder weapon during crime scene reconstruction
June 19: Meghalaya worst performing state in edn: PGI report
June 20: City man murders wife; wraps body in blanket
June 22: US names Meghalaya as no-go travel place!
June 23: Honeymoon murder: SIT arrests two more in MP
June 25: Conrad questions Opposition stand on railway projects
June 26: Is Centre going to blink on ILP to Meghalaya
June 27: SIT probing business angle in honeymoon murder case
HC disposes of PIL on Mawjymbuin cave
June 28: Meghalaya set to get back five villages from Assam
June 30: SIT recovers jewellery, laptop during MP raid
PM endorses, Meghalaya’s pride Eri silk goes global
July 1: Delink railways from ILP demand: Shylla
July 2: Paul blames hawkers’ leaders for muddying relocation move
July 3: Govt offers Rs 10,000 each to hawkers for relocation
July 4: HC permits registered vendors to run businesses for three hours in PB
July 5: Hawkers in distress over new business timings
July 6: After Paul, now Rymbui bats for MRSSA over ILP
July 7: Meghalaya Education Grant proposal invites VPP’s wrath
July 8: Youth allegedly tortured inside PS, made to drink toilet water
July 9: Dy CM Dhar visits volatile Lapangap after fresh arson
July 10: 5 cops suspended for alleged custodial torture of youth
July 11: Finance Minister inaugurates city’s first modern shopping mall
July 12: Outrage over claim of human sacrifice in M’laya village
July 15: Eviction sans vendor list will violate HC order: Special officer
July 16: VPP demands probe into allocation of protected forest land to MLAs
July 17: HC lays down updated business hours for vendors
July 18: Mayralborn demands facilitation centres to check influx into state
July 19: Home Minister Tynsong pushes for stronger MRSSA in state
July 20: 19-yr-old girl hacked to death in Williamnagar
July 21: FKJGP castigates govt over lack of MRSSA enforcement
July 22: Aadhaar not sole ID: HC directs govt to accept other documents
July 23: SMP evicts illegal hawkers from Police Bazar as per HC directive
July 24: After HC order, govt urges people to link Aadhaar for central benefits
July 25: Meghalaya heightens border vigil amid Assam eviction drive
July 26: 4,000 MT coal vanishes from Meghalaya depots
July 28: Centre sharpens BSF eyes on porous Indo-Bangla border
July 29: Rain washed away 4,000 MT of ‘missing’ coal: Kyrmen Shylla
July 30: Bulldozer operations demolish six illegal houses in GH
July 31: Centre expects explanation on 4,000 MT coal disappearance
Aug 1: ‘Missing’ coal: LoP Mukul Sangma demands SC intervention
Aug 3: Mukul slams GHADC over alleged misuse of Rs 100-cr central funds
Aug 4: Mukul signals end of road for TMC in Meghalaya
Aug 5: GH ready for railway expansion if Khasi-Jaintia Hills declines
Aug 6: NPP gets absolute majority but not to disband coalition
Aug 8: Conrad scotches rumours of dissent in ruling NPP
Aug 9: Conrad makes renewed bid for all-party parley on rail projects
Aug 10: B’deshi criminals, including cop, attack youth in SWKH
Aug 12: Rs 51-cr skywalk deck set to adorn Mawkdok Valley
Aug 13: Thrashed by mob, Bangladeshi criminal succumbs to injuries
Coal illegalities: SC issues ultimatum to M’laya govt
Aug 15: City decks up for Independence Day; security on high alert in state
Aug 18: Shillong India’s most-searched travel destination: Skyscanner
Aug 19: KSU demands Territorial Army for Meghalaya to stop influx
Aug 20: VPP slams MDA move for education grant
Aug 21: State to get its own Territorial Army
Aug 22: Militancy ‘resurfacing’ in Meghalaya, Mukul warns
Aug 23: DGP confirms youth joining rebel outfits
Aug 25: Now, UDP raises voice against resurgence of militant groups
Aug 27: Cabinet okays move for ADC staff salary, evokes mixed reactions
Aug 28: Govt attempting to seize control of ADCs, says BJP
Aug 29: Cong moves for disqualification of four ‘defector’ legislators
Aug 30: CM denies political motive behind dist council pay offer
Aug 31: Bailout to councils a bad idea: Congress
Sep 1: KSU misgivings over autonomy of ADCs; Ampareen clears air
Sep 2: KSU threatens not to honour KHADC labour certificates
Sep 3: FASTOM threaten state-wide agitation for ad hoc teachers
Sep 4: Association to ban entry of tourist taxis from outside from Sept 16
Sep 5: Ampareen, two retired officials acquitted by SC in ‘white ink case’
Sep 6: CBI may move SC against HC verdict in ‘white ink case’
Raja Raghuvanshi murder case: Police file 790-page charge sheet against key accused
Sep 8: ADC bailout, missing coal, influx to dominate five-day autumn session
Sep 9: Govt crack the whip on VIP culture, misuse of power
Sep 10: Meghalaya’s drug racket worth Rs 1,000 crore monthly: VPP
Sep 11: NFR blames corruption, politicians’ truck business for opposition to railways
Sep 12: Opp corners MDA govt on Rs 500-crore GST fraud
Sep 13: Stop corruption to avoid Nepal-like turmoil: Mukul
Sep 16: Cabinet reshuffles today: Eight ministers set to be dropped
Missing 4-year-old girl’s body found; SIT takes over probe
Sep 17: Conrad defends removal of eight ministers amid muted discontent
Sep 18: Juvenile held for 4-year-old girl’s mysterious death
Sep 19: Tourist vehicle row: Meghalaya, Assam groups temporarily suspend agitation
Sep 20: No land grabbing by USTM: M’laya to SC
Sep 21: KSU rejects govt’s uranium mining memorandum
Sep 22: ‘Conrad should make way for Khasi-Jaintia CM’
Sep 23: Ad hoc teachers begin indefinite agitation
Sep 24: Govt to study transport policies of other states
Sep 25: Plea for Khasi-Jaintia CM is communal, says Tynsong
Sep 26: VPP nominates Winston Tony Lyngdoh as KHADC CEM-designate
Sep 27: Raja’s murder: Court may frame charges on October 10
Sep 28: HM sounds alarm over fabricated crime stories
Sep 30: Meghalaya Police sets up ATS to deal with terror activities
Oct 1: Meghalaya averse to uranium mining, asserts Conrad
Oct 4: Minister junks influx fear linked to railway
Oct 5: Four teenage girls killed as truck runs over pedestrians in Ri-Bhoi
Oct 6: Saleng questions move to develop Baljek Airport for 20-seater planes
Oct 7: SSA teachers to move SC against mandatory TET
Oct 8: Dhar family’s grip on MDA tightens with key political appointment
Oct 9: Another child goes missing in Nongrah
Former top cop warns of revival of militant outfits
Oct 10: Border skirmish in Lapangap leaves Karbi villager dead
Shillong Medical College off to historic start
Oct 11: Mukul blames intelligence failure for border skirmishes
Minor’s body found in Ri-Bhoi; police suspect rape, murder
Oct 12: Police crack Ri-Bhoi child murder case; man arrested
Oct 13: Meghalaya faces threat from illegal coal-funded militancy: Mukul
Surge in crimes: Paul wants VDPs, Territorial Army to reinforce police
Oct 14: Government notifies vehicle tracking system
Oct 15: Saleng wants railway line extended from Mendipathar to Jengjal
Government forecloses Smart Road project in city
Oct 16: Conrad rejects claim of illegal uranium mining in Garo Hills
Vehicle driver allegedly sexually harasses several women in city
Oct 17: Govt spends Rs 1,967 cr annually on teachers’ salaries, says CM
Oct 18: AICC moves to replace Pala as Meghalaya Congress chief
Oct 19: 6 HNLC workers held in Umsning IED case
Oct 20: VPP bins CM’s claim on education
Oct 21: Leadership change sentiment resonates within Congress ranks
Oct 22: DGP vows to stifle HNLC
Oct 23: Shillong tops national clean air chart post Diwali festival
Oct 24: Government under fire over labour licence issued to outsiders
Oct 25: KSU slams government indecision on MRSSA implementation
Oct 26: Meghalaya SSA teachers file review petition against SC’s TET ruling
Oct 28: Over 32,000 government teachers in state yet to clear TET: Rymbui
Oct 29: Zenith Sangma quits TMC, to rejoin Congress soon
Facing backlash, government drops PPP plans for Tura Medical College
Oct 30: Homecoming: Zenith rejoins Congress
Oct 31: Mukul’s return to Congress depends on AICC, says Pala
Nov 1: Maiden academic session of state-run engineering college begins
Nov 2: Scindia unveils Rs 300-crore project for Sohra tourism
Nov 3: Pala accuses section of Congress leaders of ‘plotting’ his ouster
5 suspected GNLA-R cadres held for extortion in SWKH
Nov 4: History repeats itself; over 900 M coal goes missing!
NPP-led pan-NE political party to be formed today
Nov 5: NPP leads three parties to float pan-NE political entity
Nov 6: Tension flares as police clash with protesting truckers in EKH
Nov 7: Truckers’ protest: Tension flares again, tear gas fired
Nov 8: Truckers dismiss govt’s parley offer
Nov 9: MSPCB red flags NHIDC for flouting environmental norms
Nov 10: Congress leaders moved AICC for Pala’s removal: PN Syiem
Nov 11: Students’ protest makes NEHU cancel EC meeting in Delhi
Nov 12: Meghalaya govt detects 206 schools with zero enrolment
Trial in honeymoon murder case begins
Nov 14: NIA conducts searches in Meghalaya, other states (Red Fort bomb blast)
Nov 15: HC admits PIL against proposed demolition of Laban Circuit House
Nov 17: KHADC rejigs inquiry panel
Nov 18: Zenith’s wife, Mukul’s close aide set to rejoin Congress
Nov 19: Mukul, Saleng can co-exist in Congress: Pala on ex-CM’s return
Hit by car, two NEHU students fight for life
Nov 20: 17 years on, final tests for GSWSS begins
Nov 21: Cabinet setback: Paul questions UDP’s ethics
Nov 22: Concerts, literary push power state’s cultural economy: CM
Nov 23: Meghalaya among most favoured destinations for ‘minimoons’
Nov 24: NESO slams govt, ADCs’ silence on threat from illegal settlers
NEHU accident case: Family, students accuse Civil Hospital staff of neglect
Nov 25: SIR-driven influx threat prompts call for stricter border checks
Nov 26: Shillong Airport expansion to be completed by 2027: Dhar
Nov 27: No VIP in Meghalaya, not even CM
In a first, Ward’s Lake hosts Cabinet meeting
Nov 29: Planning board calls for multiple flyovers to fight traffic congestion
ADB’s $77 million loan to boost ecotourism in Meghalaya
Nov 30: Paul to shift to NPP?
Dec 1: Mukul in talks with several political parties: Reports
Dec 2: Congress reluctant to welcome Mukul
Dec 3: Centre to repay 72% of loans: CM bins Pala’s debt trap claim
Dec 4: Mukul says Zenith’s return to Congress aspirational but wrong
Dec 5: Shortage of 40,554 MT on coal: Panel directs probe
Dec 7: Airfares out of Shillong soar amid IndiGo crisis
Dec 8: Three labourers reported dead inside EJH coal mine, police yet to confirm
Dec 9: Won’t allow railway survey in JH sans safeguards: JSU warns NFR
Dec 11: KSU ready to fight any attempt to push railway project in Jaintia Hills
Dec 12: Airport expansion: HC directs govt to hand over land to AAI by January 31
Dec 13: Ponzi scheme: ED attaches assets worth Rs 17 crore in state
Dec 14: Speculations run rife over Mukul’s Delhi visit: Where’s he heading?
Dec 15: Mukul rubbishes speculation of his entry into ruling party
Dec 16: key city-based Ponzi scheme scam accused traced to Delhi
City grapples with water crisis as PHE shutdown continues
Dec 17: Fresh leakage hits GSWSS shortly after resumption; HC registers PIL based on ST report
Dec 18: Resolve water crisis within 48 hours: HC to govt
Dec 19: IED blast at Dhar’s company site in EJH; two HNLC workers arrested
Dec 20: CM warns HNLC after IED blast
Dec 21: Two HNLC cadres among four involved in IED blast
Dec 23: Christmas lights illuminate city, bringing festive cheer
Dec 24: Ready to face assassination if it helps people: Ardent on HNLC threat
Dec 25: Prayers for peace and unity usher Christmas in state
Dec 29: Govt promises adequate security t Dhar after HNLC threat
Dec 30: Bangladesh unrest a threat to Northeast, says State BJP
Dec 31: Centre gives positive signal on ILP-like protection for Meghalaya (ENDS)
