Same Murder, Different Routes: How Sonam, Killers Escaped From Meghalaya

NDTV

a day ago

The murder occurred on May 23, the body was found on June 2, and the whereabouts of the wife were unknown. There was speculation that the woman, who had come with her husband for her honeymoon, may have also been attacked or kidnapped.
Little did the police know in the hours after the murder, however, that not only was Sonam Raghuvanshi safe, she was the one who had not only allegedly plotted her husband's murder, but had watched it happen and then helped roll the body into a gorge.
After Sonam surfaced in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, the Meghalaya Police have also been able to piece together how she escaped after the murder, shedding more light on the planning behind the crime.
Sonam Raghuvanshi, 24, married Raja Raghuvanshi, 29, in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on May 11. She then planned a Meghalaya trip for their honeymoon and the couple reached Shillong on May 22. They then went to the Sohra area - which is also known as Cherrapunji - in the East Khasi Hills district.
Raja and his family were unaware, however, that Sonam was in love with an employee of her family-run business, Raj Kushwaha, 21. Kushwaha had allegedly hired three of his friends to murder Raja and Sonam had promised to pay them Rs 20 lakh.
On May 23, Sonam and Raja went trekking, aiming to get to the top of a steep peak in Mawlakhiat to see a waterfall. They were being trailed by the killers and, when they reached a deserted spot, Sonam allegedly asked them to kill Raja.
Sources said Sonam also then helped throw the body of her husband, whom she had married less than two weeks ago, into the gorge.
The Escape
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Syiem said on Tuesday that, after the murder, Sonam took a taxi from Mawlakhiat to Shillong, then travelled to Guwahati in a tourist taxi. From Guwahati, she boarded a train.
"According to her, she went to Indore. But that is yet to be confirmed from the other accused," she said.
The three killers, Kushwaha's friends, fled from Sohra to Guwahati by taxi and then boarded a train to Indore.
"Their coordinated but separate movement indicates that the logistics of the escape after the murder was also planned," a source from the Meghalaya Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the case said.
Planning
Mr Syiem said the SIT managed to gather enough evidence to arrest Sonam within seven days of the body being found. Sonam's phone has not been found yet but the police, the SP said, have established that she was in touch with Raj Kushwaha on the day of the killing and he was communicating with the three killers.
The police are yet to figure out, however, whether she had been to Meghalaya before and had chosen the exact location for the murder.
"She may have just Googled which are the isolated places... there is a lot of forest out there... and probably just found an opportune moment to commit the crime. It could have happened anywhere. We can't say because she has said that she has never been to Shillong... But the fact of the matter is yes they were planning to kill him. But which spot, whether they were sure or they were not sure, that is yet to be confirmed," Mr Syiem said.
Sonam is expected to arrive in Shillong around midnight on Tuesday and Kushwaha and the three killers on Wednesday morning.
"We will be producing them in court tomorrow. And thereafter we will be taking police remand for the investigation. After they come here, we will take a call on when we will do the reconstruction of the crime scene," he said.
Giving more details of the murder, Mr Syiem added, "You see, they came up together. In fact, they met in a scenic spot and then they walked up. Their scooters were there. According to the assailants, it was Sonam who took them to Wei Sawdong (the waterfall). And that's where the crime took place."