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Meghalaya honeymoon case: Wife hired hitmen to kill husband, arrested
Meghalaya police confirmed that the wife Sonam Raghuvanshi is suspected of involvement in her husband Raja's murder and had hired three assassins.
The Meghalaya police on Monday said they have arrested the wife of an Indore man, Raja Raghuvanshi, who was allegedly murdered during their honeymoon in the state. The woman, who had been missing for nearly two weeks, allegedly hired a group of killers to murder her husband just days after their marriage in Madhya Pradesh, the police added.
Meghalaya DGP I Nongrang “Four persons, including the wife, were arrested in connection with the Indore man's murder in Meghalaya.”
The official added, “The wife was allegedly involved in the Indore man's murder during honeymoon in Meghalaya. She had hired killers.”
The wife, Sonam, surrendered to police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, while three other suspects were arrested during overnight raids, Nongrang said.
“One person was picked up from UP, and another two accused were apprehended from Indore by the SIT,” she said.
“Sonam surrendered at the Nandganj police station in UP, and was subsequently arrested,” she added.
Nongrang mentioned that the arrested men confessed that the wife had hired them to kill Raghuvanshi.
“The operation is still continuing in Madhya Pradesh to catch some more persons involved in the crime,” she said.
Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma lauded the police for solving the case.
“Within 7 days, a major breakthrough has been achieved by the Meghalaya Police in the Raja murder case. 3 assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested, a female has surrendered, and the operation is still on to catch one more assailant,” he wrote on X.
On Friday, the family of Raja Raghuvanshi, whose body was discovered in a gorge near Cherrapunji, had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a CBI investigation into the case.
When did reports about the ‘missing’ couple emerge?
Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, went missing during their honeymoon in the northeastern state, last seen on May 23. On June 2, Raja’s body was discovered in a gorge at Sohrarim near Cherrapunji, while Sonam remained missing.
Raja’s brother, Vipul Raghuvanshi, told ANI last week: “We have written a letter to the Prime Minister requesting a CBI inquiry and submitted it at the commissioner's office. We want the PM and the Chief Minister to extend their support to us, and a CBI investigation should be conducted into the matter. It could bring justice to Raja and make finding Sonam easier. The way the Meghalaya police are working on this case, they won’t bring justice to Raja.”
Last week, a tourist guide said that the honeymooning couple from Indore, Raja and Sonam, were accompanied by three men on the day they went missing in Meghalaya’s Sohra area.
Speaking to PTI, Mawlakhiat guide Albert Pde said he had seen the couple with three male tourists climbing over 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat at around 10 a.m. on May 23.
He recognized the couple as he had offered to guide them down to Nongriat the previous day, but they had politely declined and hired another guide.
“The four men were walking ahead while the woman was behind. The four men were conversing in Hindi, but I could not understand what they were saying, as I know only Khasi and English,” Pde said.
He added that on May 22, he had offered to guide them to Nongriat, but they had hired another guide named Bha Wansai, stayed at Shipara Homestay overnight, and returned the next day without a guide.
“By the time I reached Mawlakhiat, their scooter was not there,” the guide claimed.
(With inputs from Sudhir Kumar)
