Sonam Planned To Pass Off Raja's Murder As Robbery Gone Wrong, A Lie Became Her Undoing

News18

21 hours ago

Last Updated:
Prime accused in her husband's murder case, Sonam Raghuvanshi allegedly planned to live as a widow for a while before trying to convince her family to let her marry Raj Kushwaha
With her husband Raja Raghuvanshi out of the way, Sonam Raghuvanshi allegedly planned to live as a widow for a while before trying to convince her family to let her marry Raj Kushwaha.
Now, Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha are in custody and the prime accused in the horrific murder case of Raja Raghuvanshi, who never returned from his honeymoon trip to Meghalaya. His wife, who allegedly wanted to stage his murder as a robbery gone wrong, was caught in a lie – the undoing of best-laid plans, in this case a bone-chilling murder plot.
The alleged plan started unravelling soon after the police got hold of the first clue – a phone call by Sonam to her mother-in-law Uma Raghuvanshi. The special investigation team (SIT) probing the murder got access to an audio call between the two women, in which the accused informed the other woman about a fasting for Raja's good health. Later, when the investigators tracked the owner of the hotel where the couple was staying, they found that this was, in fact, a lie as she had eaten a meal that day.
According to a report published by The Indian Express, the SIT grew suspicious and decided to mount technical surveillance on her. This led to the discovery that she was in constant touch with Kushwaha, police said.
'We found that she had consumed food. We also found that she was in touch with the main accused, Raj Kushwaha. The plan was to pass this off as a robbery gone wrong," Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills, Vivek Syiem told The Indian Express.
Raja and Sonam, both residents of Indore, had gone missing during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. Raja's body was later found in a gorge in Sohra in the East Khasi Hills district on June 2. Late on Sunday (June 9), Sonam surrendered before the police in Ghazipur district, while four accused, including Kushwaha, were arrested from different areas of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Investigators said Sonam left her home with jewellery and also asked her husband to wear gold to pass this off as a robbery gone wrong. Raja's mother told reporters that her son was wearing gold worth more than Rs 10 lakh, on a request from his wife.
'This is what our investigation has found. The couple had not booked return flight tickets. They had initially made plans to visit a temple in Guwahati. Then they chose to visit Meghalaya, and this very spot must have been chosen to commit the crime since a tourist recently went missing here and his body was found in the gorge after he suffered a fall. We are still investigating why the Meghalaya trip was planned," Syiem was quoted.
First Published:
June 10, 2025, 18:02 IST