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Meghalaya murder: From couple's disappearance to wife Sonam Raghuvanshi's arrest. See timeline of events
Meghalaya murder: Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam Raghuvanshi went missing in Meghalaya on May 23, three days after leaving for honeymoon.
Meghalaya Police on Monday announced the arrest of the wife of Indore resident Raja Raghuvanshi, who was allegedly killed during the couple’s honeymoon. The investigation, launched last month, has attracted widespread attention as new details continue to emerge each day.. Here is a timeline of events
Went missing on May 23
Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam Raghuvanshi got married on May 11 and left from Indore to Meghalaya on May 20 for their honeymoon. They were reported missing on May 23, three days after leaving for honeymoon. The CCTV at the Shillong homestay, where the couple was staying showed them both in black jackets, carrying white suitcase. Notably, the white shirt worn by Raja’s wife seen in the video was later recovered near Raja's body.
Rented scooter found
On May 24, their rented scooter was found abandoned by the police outside a café along the road connecting Shillong to Sohra. Last seen on May 23, according to the police, the couple arrived in Mawlakhiat village on May 22 and trekked down a gorge to visit the famous living root bridges in Nongriat village, where they stayed the night.
Sonam left mother in law a voice message
Raja’s mother revealed that she received a voice message from Sonam on the same day that the couple went missing. In the recording, Sonam was heard short of breath, telling her mother-in-law that she was trekking to a waterfall and refusing to break her religious fast.
Body of Raja Raghuvanshi found
On June 2, after eight days of intensive efforts, the body of Raja Raghuvanshi was recovered from a deep gorge below the Wei Sawdong Falls parking lot in Sohra. Along with the body, police also found several items from the site, including a white woman's shirt, a strip of Pentra 40 (medication) and part of an LCD screen from what is believed to be a Vivo smartphone. A smartwatch was also found strapped to Raja’s wrist and led to the identification of his body by the family.
Blood stained machete found
On the same day, June 2, a bloodstained machete was also recovered by the police along with a black field coat suspected to be of the couple. This was found in Mawkma village, located a few Kilometres from the gorge where Raja’s body was found. An investigator also said that the machete found, did not resemble the traditional ones used in Meghalaya. After the body was found, SIT was formed and the postmortem of the body was done.
Tourist guide saw the couple with three men
A tourist guide said that he saw the couple accompanied by three men on the day they went missing from Sohra. Albert Pde, a guide at Mawlakhiat, said he had seen the couple accompanied by three male tourists climbing from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am on May 23. The four men were conversing in Hindi but I could not understand what they were speaking as I know only Khasi and English," Pde said.
Raja’s family demands CBI probe
On June 6, Raja's brother Vipul Raghuvanshi said that the family had submitted the letter demanding a CBI probe at the commissioner's office. He also urged the Prime Minister and Meghalaya Chief Minister to support their demand.
Wife and three others arrested
The Meghalaya police today said that they have arrested the wife Sonam Raghuvanshi who had been missing till now. They also said that Sonam allegedly hired killers to murder her husband. Along with her, three other people were also arrested.
