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Meghalaya honeymoon murder: List of key evidence that will help police grill Sonam Raghuvanshi, 4 contract killers
Based on evidence gathered over the past two weeks, police have built a watertight case against the accused, Sonam Raghuvanshi, “lover” Raj and others.
A local court in Shillong on Wednesday sent five accused, including the wife of murdered Indore man Raja Raghuvanshi, to eight days of police custody. The Meghalaya Police said it plans to take them to Sohra and surrounding areas to reconstruct the crime scene as part of the ongoing investigation.
The five accused include Sonam Raghuvanshi, her alleged lover Raj Singh Kushwaha, and three others — Akash Rajput from Lalitpur (Uttar Pradesh), Vishal Singh Chauhan from Indore (Madhya Pradesh), and Anand Kurmi from Sagar (Madhya Pradesh).
According to police, these three men were hired by Sonam and Raj to kill Raja while the couple was on their honeymoon in Meghalaya.
What are the evidence recovered so far
Based on evidence gathered over the past two weeks, East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said the police have built a watertight case against the accused.
“We had sought a 10-day remand for all the accused. The court granted eight days,” SP Syiem told PTI. “There are a lot of loose ends that we need to tie up. We can confirm more details only after Sonam’s interrogation. In our evidence it is proven that she is very much involved.”
The following items have been recovered:
- CCTV camera footage collected from multiple locations
- Khukri (machete) used as the murder weapon
- Blood-stained shirt confirmed to be soaked in Raja's blood
- Raincoat belonging to Sonam, also with blood stains
- Statements from hotel owners where the couple stayed
- Blood-stained clothes of accused Anand Kurmi
- Digital footprints and call records showing communication between the accused
"We have gathered CCTV camera evidence, making this investigation a very tight-knit one," the SP added.
The officer further said that Sonam remained in contact with her boyfriend Raj throughout the day of the murder, while Raj directed the actions of the three hired killers. “Sonam was present when Raja was killed,” he added.
How Raja Raghuvanshi's murder was planned and executed
According to investigators, Sonam and Raja got married on May 11 in Indore and reached Meghalaya via Guwahati on May 21. The very next day, the alleged contract killers also arrived in Guwahati. They are said to have purchased a machete from a shop near their hotel.
Police believe Sonam tricked Raja into visiting the Kamakhya Devi Temple in Assam, telling him it was necessary to make an offering before consummating their marriage.
She later convinced him to go deep into the forests of Nongriat in Sohra, East Khasi Hills, where the killers could get an opportunity to attack.
However, police said the plan was delayed due to the presence of several tourists in the area on May 22 and 23.
“Sonam coerced her husband to take her deep into the jungles of Nongriat with the belief that the hitmen she hired would have a better chance of killing him. But, since there were too many tourists trekking to Nongriat on May 22 and May 23, they couldn’t kill him there,” said a police officer.
Raja was eventually murdered near the Weisawdong Falls, and his body was thrown into a nearby gorge.
After the crime, police said, Sonam left Sohra in a taxi, reached Shillong, then took a cab to Guwahati. From there, she boarded multiple trains to avoid being tracked. “We are committed to submitting a water-tight chargesheet,” cops said.
Sonam Raghuvanshi was arrested on Monday from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, while Raj was caught a day earlier in Indore. Sonam was brought to Shillong on Tuesday night on a three-day transit remand and kept in police custody after a medical checkup.
The remaining three accused were brought from Indore on a six-day transit remand.
(With PTI inputs)
