Meghalaya honeymoon case: What happened on the fateful day of Raja Raghuvanshi's murder
Sonam Raghuvanshi, a 24-year-old woman, was arrested for her suspected role in the murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya – just days after their wedding. The case took several dramatic turns after she surrendered in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, days after Raja's body was recovered on June 2. This came after reports of a 'missing couple' surfaced from May 23, with concerned families accusing Meghalaya Police of failing to trace them.
Sonam later showed up at a dhaba in Ghazipur, prompting Meghalaya Police to act swiftly and take her into custody. It was then that the chilling details of the case emerged – she had allegedly hired a group of men to kill her husband. The investigation saw coordinated efforts from police in three states – Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh – to unravel the mystery behind the so-called 'honeymoon murder'.
A senior officer told Hindustan Times on Wednesday that a Special Investigation Team plans to take Raja Raghuvanshi's alleged killers to Sohra and nearby areas in Meghalaya to reconstruct the crime.
This comes after a Shillong court remanded his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, and the four other accused to eight days of police custody.
Based on the initial questioning of the three accused arrested in Indore, police have reconstructed the sequence of events on the day Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered and what followed after.
5.30 am: Sonam and Raja Raghuvanshi checked out of Shipara Guest House, and left for a trek to Cherrapunji.
6 am: She messaged Vishal Chauhan, who was staying in another homestay, and the killers left for the same trek.
9.30 am – 10 am: The killers — Chauhan, Anand Kurmi, Akash Rajput — joined the couple, and befriended Raja.
10 am: A local guide, Albert Pde, spotted the five of them.
12.30 pm: Sonam spoke to her mother-in-law, Uma Raghuvanshi, and said Raja's phone was discharged. Raja also talked to his mother.
1 pm: They reached the parking lot of Wei Sawdong Waterfalls.
1.30 pm: Sonam claimed she was tired and slowed down during the uphill trek, while Raja continued ahead with Vishal and Akash. Kurmi kept a watch from behind. Vishal struck Raja on the back of his head and as Raja turned, Vishal struck his forehead with a sharp weapon.
2.15 pm: Sonam shared a message on social media.
2.30 pm: Raja's body was thrown into the gorge at Riat Arliang. Sonam left alone on a scooter and the three others on another scooter.
3.30 pm: They reconvened, Sonam transferred ₹15,000 through UPI to one of them. According to police, the money was transferred through an account under the name Jitendra Raghuvanshi. Sonam's brother, Govind, has told the police that Jitendra is their cousin. Sonam left Shillong the same day, the killers stayed back.
May 25: Sonam returned to Indore on Kamakhya Express.
May 30: The three other accused returned to Indore via Bihar.
June 1: Raja's body was retrieved from the gorge.
June 8: Sonam's boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and his cousin, Arvind, were arrested from Indore. Rajput was arrested from Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh.
June 9: Sonam surrendered to Nauganj police in Gazipur; Kurmi is arrested from Bina in MP.
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Raj mastermind, Raja's killers planned to murder a woman and pass her body as that of Sonam: Police
Shillong, The killers of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi had a plan to murder any woman and burn her body to pass it as that of his wife Sonam so that she would be able to be in hiding for a few more days till the truth is known, a Meghalaya police officer said. The police also found out that Raj Kushwaha, a suspected boyfriend of Sonam, was the mastermind in the murder plot, and she is the co-conspirator. On the first day of interrogation of Sonam, Raj and three others, who were arrested in connection with the killing of the Raja Raghuvanshi, also revealed that she fled from Meghalaya in a burqa and reached the Madhya Pradesh city using various modes of transport like taxi, bus and train. "The conspiracy to eliminate Raja was hatched in Indore, shortly before his wedding with Sonam on May 11, and the mastermind is Raj while the woman had agreed to the plot," East Khasi Hills district Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem told PTI. A few days after the wedding, Raja and Sonam had come to picturesque Sohra in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district and went missing on May 23. His body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2, while a search continued for Sonam. She emerged in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, around 1,200 km away, in the early hours of June 9 and surrendered. The police had also arrested her alleged boyfriend, Raj Kushwaha and three others – Vishal, Akash and Anand - who, till now, were suspected to have been contract killers. 'The three young people were friends, and one of them is a cousin of Raj. It was not a typical contract killing. Yes, the plan was to kill and they did it as a favour to their friend Raj,' Syiem said. Raj had given them ₹50,000 for the expenditures, he said. The planning started in February in Indore and they had thought of ways about how Sonam would disappear after the killing of Raja. 'One plan was to make people believe that she would wash away by a river. Another plan was to murder any woman, burn the body and claim that it was of Sonam. However, none of the plans fructify,' the police officer said. The group had come a few days before the newly-wed couple reached Assam on May 19 and they had initially planned to eliminate Raja somewhere in Guwahati. As that did not work for some reason, Sonam planned to go to Shillong and Sohra, and according to understanding, all met at Nongriat, the officer said. Syiem said they started together for Weisawdong Falls, and there all three hit Raja with a machete they bought in Assam and killed him in front of Sonam between 2 pm and 2.18 pm on May 23 before throwing the body in a gorge. Sonam gave Akash the raincoat she was wearing as his shirt had a blood spot. They left Weisawdong on scooters, and Akash threw the raincoat later as it too had blood stains. They also abandoned the two-wheeler hired by Sonam and Raja at a place, the SP said. The police recovered the raincoat and the two-wheeler when Sonam was thought to have been missing. 'Raj had given Vishal a burqa which he has handed over to Sonam. She wore it, went to the Police Bazaar and took a taxi to Guwahati. From Guwahati, she reached Siliguri on a bus. From there, she took buses to go to Patna and Arah and boarded a train for Lucknow. From Lucknow, Sonam took a bus and reached Indore,' he said. In the meantime, Meghalaya media interviewed a tour guide who said he had seen Sonam and Raja with three people. Raj told Sonam to leave Indore and emerge somewhere in Siliguri and claim herself as a victim of abduction. But on June 8, when Sonam had left Indore, two police teams from Meghalaya reached UP and Madhya Pradesh in civil dress. 'When the first arrest was made in UP, Raj panicked and told Sonam to call up her family and tell them she just escaped from an abduction gang. That's how this whole thing came to light in Ghazipur,' Syiem said. They had thought that Raja's body would not be discovered as it was remote and the police enquiry would take one to two months. So she thought of playing the victim card. 'We are recording their statements. We are questioning them. We will gather more evidence and reconstruct the crime scene,' Syiem said. The officer said the police are confident to file a charge sheet in the case within the mandatory 90 days. All five were remanded to eight days of police custody on Wednesday.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Sonam Raghuvanshi says she was forced into marriage; cops reveal Raja Raghuvanshi was killed in fourth attempt
SHILLONG: Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered in the fourth attempt by his wife Sonam and three other assailants between Guwahati and Sohra, police said on Thursday after interrogating the five accused, who have all confessed to the murder of the Indore transporter. 'Though we want more about how actually the whole murder took place, she said that she was forced to marry Raja, which she said was the reason,' East Khasi Hills superintendent of police Vivek Syiem said. 'As of now at this juncture it is very clear that it is a love angle which has happened. Raj is the mastermind,' Syiem said, adding that all the five accused _Sonam, Vishal Chauhan, Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi _ said the plan was hatched in Indore 11 days before Raja and Sonam's wedding. 'They were all friends and one of them was Raj's cousin. It was not a contract killing. They committed the crime as a favour to Raj,' said the SP. 'They wanted to get rid of Raja in various places. First, they tried to eliminate him somewhere in Guwahati, which did not materialize. They then wanted to eliminate him in Nongriat. But they didn't find a place to dispose the body. They then wanted to do it between Mawalakhyat and Weisawdong but that also didn't happen. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Versátil como sempre. Mais autonomia que nunca. MINI Saiba Mais Undo Finally, they did it in Weisawdong falls,' the SP said. Investigations revealed how the suspects planned Sonam's disappearance back in February, way before Raja and Sonam tied the knot. The three people involved in the crime arrived in Guwahati way before Sonam did, the SP said. 'The initial plan was to eliminate Raja in Guwahati itself. Since they were unable to execute the plan in Guwahati, Sonam decided to travel to Shillong and then to Sohra. Later, they decided to execute the plan in Nongriat,' Vivek Syiem said. 'All the accused took turns to hack Raja Raghuvanshi. Then they threw the body into the gorge. They left the place immediately after. Akash discarded his shirt and put on the raincoat Sonam was wearing.' The police claimed that in February Sonam and Raj had initially thought of ways where Sonam would disappear and probably escape the marriage with Raja. 'One plan was to make her get washed by ariver. Another plan was murder somebody, put it on a scooty and burn that person's body and later claim to be that of Sonam's,' the SP said. But when these ideas could not be implemented, they focussed on eliminating Raja after the wedding, police said. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Indian Express
7 hours ago
- Indian Express
In Jharkhand, trouble mounts for Sita Soren as ex-PA files abduction case
A Dhanbad court has admitted a criminal complaint filed by Jharkhand BJP leader Sita Soren's ex-aide Devashish Manoranjan Ghosh, who has accused her of abducting, assaulting, looting, and framing him in an Arms Act case earlier this year. Ghosh, who was a former PA to Soren, alleged that on March 6 he was taken to Dhanbad at Sita's behest under the pretext of attending a wedding. He alleged he was 'diverted from Wedlock Hotel to Sonotel Hotel in Dhanbad, where the conspiracy unfolded'. 'On the evening of March 6 while I was taking rest in the hotel (Sonotel Hotel), I was asked to come out of the hotel, where nearly 15 people assaulted me, looted money from my ATM and UPI apps, and planted weapons including a pistol (desi katta) near me,' Ghosh alleged. 'They filed an FIR against me the same night at Saraidhela police station under the Arms Act and I was arrested soon afterwards. I spent 31 days in jail,' he said. Ghosh claimed that 'the real reason behind Sita Soren's fallout with me was political'. He said Sita had accused him of 'aligning' with Congress leader Irfan Ansari in the Jamtara seat during the November 2024 Jharkhand polls in an alleged attempt to 'sabotage' her campaign. After his release on bail, Ghosh said he refrained from approaching the police and has now chosen to directly move a Dhanbad court with his complaint against Sita. The court held its first hearing in the matter on Tuesday. Sita, meanwhile, has denied the allegations levelled by Ghosh, accusing him of allegedly committing a fraud to the tune of `1.5 crore during the Jharkhand poll campaign. Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India. Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More
