'Informed the police after...': Sonam Raghuvanshi's brother reveals key details of call with sister

Time of India

4 hours ago

Following Sonam Raghuvanshi's surrender in the Meghalaya honeymoon murder case in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, her brother Govind Raghuvanshi on Monday has refrained from commenting further.
"When she called me, I got emotional, and later informed the police. Until I meet her (Sonam), I cannot say anything. For the last 72 hours, I have been awake. It's been 20 days since I met her," Govind said.
Sonam Raghuvanshi, wife of the late
Raja Raghuvanshi
, was located near a dhaba on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway, a senior Uttar Pradesh Police official confirmed on Monday.
So far, four individuals have been arrested in connection with the case — Vishal Chauhan, Raj Kushwaha, and Akash Rajput among them. Meanwhile, Meghalaya Police are en route to Ghazipur to formally arrest Sonam.
The Indore-based woman accused of hiring men to get her husband killed during their honeymoon in Meghalaya surrendered before Uttar Pradesh Police in Ghazipur, while another man was arrested from Lalitpur district, an officer said on Monday.
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Meghalaya DGP I Nonrong, earlier in the day, said Raja Raghuvanshi, an Indore-based transport businessman whose body was found a week back in Meghalaya, was allegedly killed by men hired by his wife, Sonam.
Apart from Sonam, police have arrested three more men — Akash Rajput from Lalitpur and two others from Indore. A total of five people have been arrested in the case so far.
Raghuvanshi and his wife had gone missing while vacationing in the Sohra area in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district on May 23. Raghuvanshi's body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2. Sonam, 24, had been missing since then.
Ghazipur Superintendent of Police Iraz Raja said that Sonam was nabbed in the night at 'Kashi Dhaba' on the Varanasi-Ghazipur main road.
She was sent to Sadar Hospital for initial treatment and then kept at a one-stop centre, which provides assistance to women in distress, as well as medical and legal aid.
A dhaba employee told reporters that Sonam had asked for a phone to call her parents in Indore, which led to the Madhya Pradesh Police to trace her location. Later, UP Police were contacted and Sonam was held.
Meanwhile, around 6.30 PM on Monday, a team of Meghalaya Police took Sonam into custody from the one-stop centre she was admitted to.
The process to procure a transit remand for her is underway, the officer said.
Although she was collected from the eatery, police said Sonam surrendered at the Nandganj Police Station in Ghazipur district.
Earlier in the day, Govind, her brother, also reached Ghazipur from Meghalaya.
"If she is guilty, she should be hanged. Whatever the government decides, we will accept it," he told reporters.
Asked if had spoken to Sonam, Govind said, "I don't know anything for now. I have no idea. I have not met her. I have not slept for 17 days, I have been searching for her with the police in Meghalaya."
Rajput was apprehended Sunday night from Chauki village in the Mahrauni Police Station area of Madhya Pradesh's Lalitpur, Superintendent of Police Md Mustaque said.
"Meghalaya Police is interrogating Rajput and we are extending help to them. Further legal action will be taken by the concerned state police," he said.
Earlier, Nonrong said one person was picked up from UP in connection with Raghuvanshi's death and another two from Indore by a Special Investigation Team.
"The operation is still continuing in Madhya Pradesh to catch some more persons involved in the crime," she said.
After their marriage on May 11, the couple left for Meghalaya on May 20 for honeymoon. They reached Mawlakhiat village in the northeastern state on May 22 on a rented scooter.
On May 24, the scooter was found abandoned outside a cafe along the Shillong-Sohra road, following which a search for them began.
A Meghalaya Police SIT, headed by an SP and assisted by four DSPs, is probing the matter.