Indore Couple's Wedding Video Emerges, A Gold Rush, Then Murder In Hills

NDTV

2 days ago

Indore:
Hours after a newly married Indore woman surrendered before the police after allegedly getting her husband killed, a video of their wedding has emerged, showing a cheerful Raja Raghuvanshi applying sindoor on the forehead of Sonam, dressed in a red Banarasi saree.
Curiosity has been at peak over the honeymoon murder and the couple whose married life was cut short by an unplanned trip to Meghalaya, and an extramarital affair angle that cops claim was behind the gruesome killing in the hills.
After Raja's murder and Sonam's surrender, the circumstances that followed her wedding appear to point to something eerie, if not criminal.
Raja and Sonam were married on May 11, and by May 20, they had set out for their honeymoon. While the former's body was found in a gorge on June 2, the latter is now in custody. The police have claimed that Raja was hacked to death with a machete.
Raja's brother, Vipul Raghuvanshi, has claimed the couple's initial plan was to visit the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati to seek blessings, but a sudden change in plan landed them in Shillong.
The bookings were done by Sonam Raghuvanshi, but her family was not aware of the plan.
Sonam left for the airport from her paternal home, wearing her wedding jewellery. Her husband, too, had jewellery on him that included a diamond ring, chain, and bracelet worth over Rs 10 lakh. Officials suggest that her mother-in-law had questioned the need for carrying so much gold on a honeymoon.
Raja and Sonam's sudden trip to Shillong raised eyebrows, but it wasn't the first time for the latter. Sonam's family had visited Shillong before, her mother had told her in-laws.
Heavy bank transactions by Sonam have also emerged in the murder probe, in which a financial angle could provide a fresh motive, while the extramarital affair angle gathers curiosity.
Indore police officials suggest Sonam had shared their location with the alleged killers and confirmed that she used to have long conversations with Raj Kushwaha, with whom she had an affair.
A relative of the victim claimed Raj worked for Sonam and that they spoke a lot over the phone.
The Indore Police probe now hinges on the couple's call records and Sonam's questioning, while Meghalaya Police investigation has focused on the CCTV footage. Based on the footage, a total of five persons were arrested.
Sonam was arrested in Ghazipur after she tried to contact her family from a dhaba in Nandganj, while Akash Rajput, 19, was rounded up from Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh. Raj Kushwaha, 21, Vikash Singh Chauhan, 20, and Anand Kurmi were arrested in Madhya Pradesh's Indore and Sagar districts.
Officials suggest it was Anand who first attacked Raja and that Sonam had planned to make it look like an accident.