Meghalaya court frames charges against five in Raja Raghuvanshi honeymoon murder case

East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said the police and prosecution appreciate the court decision and the case would now go to trial

SHILLONG: A court in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district on Tuesday formally framed charges against five accused in the murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, who was allegedly hacked to death by hired assailants during his honeymoon trip to Sohra in May this year.

Family members of Raja Raghuvanshi, who was allegedly murdered during his honeymoon in Meghalaya, cut out the picture of his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi from a poster of their marriage after she was accused of plotting his murder. (PTI FILE PHOTO)

The five accused — Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raja’s wife; her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha; and three alleged hitmen, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi — were charged under Sections 103(1) (murder), 238(a) (disappearance of evidence), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

The five accused pleaded not guilty when produced before the sessions judge.

East Khasi Hills superintendent of police (SP) Vivek Syiem, who supervised the investigation, said police and prosecution appreciate the court decision and the case would now go to trial as per the law of the land.

“We are confident in the evidence placed before the court, and we trust the judicial process to take its due course,” he said.

According to the SIT, Sonam and her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha allegedly conspired to eliminate Raja and hired the three men from Madhya Pradesh to execute the killing during the couple’s honeymoon.

Raja was killed on May 23, 2025, near Wei Sawdong Falls in Sohra, and his body was found a week later, on June 2, from a deep gorge — triggering one of Meghalaya’s most extensive multi-agency search and investigation operations.

The SIT filed a 790-page chargesheet in September, containing forensic, digital, and material evidence, including CCTV footage, call records, GPS data, and the weapons allegedly used in the murder.