E-Paper
Not 1, but 2 machetes used to kill Raja Raghuvanshi: Meghalaya police's new reveal
One of the machetes allegedly used in the murder was recovered on June 3, a day after Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found.
Meghalaya Police on Tuesday recovered the second machete allegedly used in the murder of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi after the reconstruction of the crime scene was carried out with four accused in Sohra district, officials aware of the matter said.
The machete, which has a steel handle, was recovered from the gorge near Weisawdong Falls where Raja’s body was found on June 2, police said. The weapon was found after the reconstruction of the crime scene was conducted with Raja’s wife Sonam and the three men hired to kill him –– Akash Thakur, Anand Kurmi and Vishal Chauhan, they added.
“The whole reconstruction of the murder was played out today. We have got a very clear picture, we have recorded videography and had independent witnesses to cover the event. The reconstruction was very successful,” East Khasi Hills superintendent (SP) Vivek Syiem said. “This reconstruction was based on the interrogations over the last few days. During the interrogations, they (the accused) admitted to the offence and we just had to replay how they had done it.”
The development comes days after Raja’s (29) body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2 after he and his wife Sonam (24) went missing during their honeymoon in Sohra on May 23. A search continued for Sonam, who emerged in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, in the early hours of June 9 and surrendered. Later, Sonam’s alleged boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and three contract killers were arrested in the case.
The SP, on Tuesday, said that the reconstruction began at the parking lot in Mawlakhiat area where the accused kept their scooters. “We went to the viewpoint (in Weisawdong Falls), and ascertained who was standing where just before the murder.”
Syiem said that the victim sustained three blows –– the first by Chauhan, then Kurmi and the last by Thakur.
Sharing details of the attack, the SP said that Sonam stood in front of Raja when he was first hit while the other three assailants were behind him. “We have ascertained that there was one more machete (apart from the one that was recovered)... They have replayed how they threw away the two machetes,” he said, adding that the killers then lifted Raja’s body and threw it off the gorge.
One of the machetes allegedly used in the murder was recovered on June 3, a day after Raja’s body was found. Later in the day, the second machete was found from the gorge near Weisawdong Falls, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. Syiem also said that Raja’s mobile phone was damaged by Sonam and then by Vishal after the murder. “It (mobile phone) was damaged by Sonam and then by Vishal. This whole thing was played out, and also their exit from here,” he said.
The SP also said that police were not treating the “love triangle” between Sonam, Raja and Raj as the only motive in the case. “Preliminary investigation has revealed that the motive is love triangle, but we are trying to explore if there’s anything more...,” he said.
