Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha admit to their relationship

Raja Raghuvanshi’s family had requested a narco test on Sonam, however, their request has been rejected since ample evidence has been found against her.

In a major breakthrough in the Meghalaya honeymoon murder case, main conspirators - Sonam Raghuvanshi and her alleged boyfriend Raj Kushwaha - have admitted to their relationship and their role in killing Raja Raghuvanshi, said Meghalaya Police on Tuesday.

Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha’s affair is in the middle of the case as the main motive behind the murder, however, other angles are being probed.

According to Superintendent of Police (East Khasi Hills) Vivek Syiem, both Sonam and Raj have admitted to the crime and have recreated the crime scene for the police.

Sonam’ family, unhappy with her relationship with Raj Kushwaha, arranged her marriage to Raja Raghuvanshi, an Indore-based businessman, according to the police. Riled with this, Sonam had reportedly threatened her family of serious consequences if they made her marry Raja, which her family did, according to Vivek Syiem.

Sonam and Raj’s affair is still in the middle of the case as the main motive behind the murder, however, other motives such as financial gains are being probed though they have not been established firmly yet.

“They wanted somebody out – I mean Raja – out of this whole scene, because they had a relationship and because of the customs where they had to agree between the parents and all that. So they thought... better get rid of this person (Raja),” Syiem said.

Request for narco test rejected

Raja Raghuvanshi’s family had requested a narco-analysis test on Sonam Raghuvanshi. However, their request has been rejected since ample evidence is in place against Sonam and her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and their role in Raja’s murder.

“They have already admitted to the crime. We have done the reconstruction. They have shown us. We have got the evidence... I don’t see the reason why we should perform [a narco test] at this stage,” said Vivek Syiem.

He also explained that a narco test is usually done whether there is lack of evidence or no evidence at all. Banned by the Supreme Court, the results of a narco-test are also not admissible in court.

Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha, the two main accused, along with three hitmen allegedly hired to carry out the killing - Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi - will reportedly be produced before the court on Thursday.

With inputs from David Laitphlang