- Friday, June 13, 2025
The shocking crime had triggered a manhunt across three states – Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
By: India Weekly
THE SHOCKING murder of an Indore-based businessman, who had gone on a honeymoon in Meghalaya, underwent many twists and turns, and finally unravelled with his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, being the prime accused.
The 24-year-old woman, also from Indore, allegedly orchestrated the murder of her husband – Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in the scenic town of Sohra, a police official from Meghalaya said.
The shocking crime had triggered a manhunt across three states – Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Raja was killed by men allegedly hired by Sonam, and she went ‘missing’ and later surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur where she surrendered to the police.
She surrendered after the arrest of three assailants – Akash Rajput (19), Vishal Singh Chauhan (22), and Raj Singh Kushwaha (21) – in overnight raids in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, police said.
The first person to be arrested was Rajput from Lalitpur in UP, followed by Chauhan and Kushwaha, both from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, a police official in Meghalaya said during a press briefing in the capital Shillong.
The four accused have been taken into custody by the Meghalaya Police on a transit remand.
Police officials claim Sonam was allegedly in love with Kushwaha.
Sonam used to handle her father’s business of selling sunmica sheets used in furniture.
Kushwaha used to work as an accountant in the establishment.
Raja Raghuvanshi, was found dead in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls in East Khasi Hills district on June 2, ten days after the couple went missing.
Raja and Sonam, who got married on May 11 in Indore, went to Meghalaya on their honeymoon.
They disappeared on May 23, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where his body was found.
Raja’s relatives identified the body through a distinctive tattoo on his right hand.
A woman’s white shirt, a strip of medicine, a part of the LCD screen of a mobile phone, and a smartwatch were also seized at the spot.
Police also recovered a bloodstained machete, which they believe was used in Raja’s murder.
A raincoat, also believed to belong to the couple, was recovered from Mawkma village, a few kilometres away from the gorge where Raja’s body was found.
Raja’s autopsy report revealed that he was hit twice on the head with a sharp object.
A Uttar Pradesh police official said Sonam was found at an eatery on the Varanasi-Ghazipur main road.
A tourist guide, Albert Pde, at Mawlakhiat in Sohra had seen the couple with three men on the day they went missing.
Pde had initially offered his services to walk them to Nongriat on May 22, but they politely refused and hired another guide identified as Bha Wansai, who dropped them at Shipara homestay.
The guide said the couple was climbing over 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am on May 23.
He also said all three men accompanying the couple were speaking in Hindi, indicating that they were not locals.
Pde told PTI, “I am happy that the criminals are finally behind bars.”
“We stand vindicated. Those who tried to tarnish the image of Sohra and its people as violent have now been exposed,” said a visibly relieved Pde.
While Sonam has been accused of plotting the murder, her father, Devi Singh Raghuvanshi, a businessman, insisted she was abducted and falsely implicated.
“My daughter is 100 per cent innocent. Meghalaya Police is misleading the media and not investigating the matter properly.
“The family has demanded a CBI probe, with Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav also writing to federal home minister Amit Shah requesting a central investigation,” he said.
Sonam’s father also said that Kushwaha’s name is being wrongly linked with his daughter.
Meanwhile, Raja’s mother Uma Raghuvanshi expressed suspicion about Sonam’s behavior.
She claimed that the couple planned the trip to the northeastern state for their honeymoon, but did not book the return tickets.
“My son went to Meghalaya with Sonam on her insistence. He did not want to go on honeymoon so soon.
“He had told me that Sonam had booked tickets for the trip to Meghalaya. I told him that if the ticket has been booked, then he should go to Meghalaya with his wife,” she said.
“My son also told me that although Sonam had not booked the return tickets, they assured to return to Indore in six to seven days,” she added.
A heartbroken Uma said she was shocked to see the latest picture of Sonam (from Ghazipur) because there was not even a scratch mark on the body of her daughter-in-law, who went missing last month while Raja was murdered.
“I now want to hear from Sonam – why, how, and in what condition she left my son.”
