Call records enable Meghalaya Police to make sensational breakthrough
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 9: The veil of mystery surrounding the infamous murder of Indore tourist Raja Raghuvanshi was removed by Meghalaya Police on Monday with the arrest of Sonam Raghuvanshi, her lover Raj Kushwaha and three contract killers who executed her husband in Sohra on May 23 during their honeymoon trip.
Raja was killed by the three men, allegedly hired by Sonam, who surrendered before the Nandganj Police Station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, after the arrest of three assailants – Akash Rajput (19), Vishal Singh Chauhan (22), and Raj Singh Kushwaha (21) – in overnight raids.
“The first person arrested was Akash Rajput from Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh. The second was Vishal Singh Chauhan from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The third was Raj Kushwaha, also from Indore,” East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said at a press conference here.
Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said Sonam, a resident of Govindnagar Khandsa in Indore, was found at Kashi Dhaba on the Varanasi-Ghazipur main road on Sunday night after which she was arrested.
Meghalaya Police later arrested a fourth person – Anand Kurmi (23) from Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh.
The breakthrough was achieved following sustained investigative efforts and multi-state coordination. Several teams from Meghalaya Police reached UP and Madhya Pradesh to make the arrests.
According to police, Sonam conspired with her alleged partner Raj Kushwaha to kill her husband.
Police confirmed that the three assailants had stayed at a homestay in Nongriat and after committing the crime on May 23, they left the state the same day and boarded a train from Guwahati the next day.
Call details lead to breakthrough
Sonam’s call details led police to believe that she was one of the masterminds.
When the police did the technical analysis, they found that Sonam was in constant contact with Raj Kushwaha.
After the crime, Sonam’s phone was switched off, but the phones of the contract killers were still on, enabling Meghalaya police to track them.
Making it clear that Sonam is the prime accused in the case with all the backed evidence, the SP added that Sonam after remaining underground for so many says surrendered herself finally as she knew that the police operation has intensified.
The contract killers had bought the dao (murder weapon) from somewhere in Guwahati. Police had earlier confirmed that the dao, recovered from the site where Raja’s body was dumped, was brand new.
Raja’s autopsy report revealed that he was hit twice on the head with a sharp object.
Syiem said the police saw two cuts on his head during the inquest after the body was taken out of the gorge.
My daughter innocent: Sonam’s father
Sonam’s father, Devi Singh Raghuvanshi, insisted she was abducted and falsely implicated.
“My daughter is 100 per cent innocent. Meghalaya Police is misleading the media and not investigating the matter properly. The family has demanded a CBI probe, with Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav also writing to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting a central investigation,” he said.
Sonam’s father, who runs a business of Sunmica sheets, also said, “Kushwaha’s name is being wrongly linked with my daughter Sonam. Meghalaya Police are making false allegations against my daughter to save their skin. I will send a legal notice to Meghalaya Police.”
Eyewitnesses said from Monday night police personnel have been deployed outside Sonam’s maternal home and the door of her house has been locked from inside.
Outside Raja Raghuvanshi’s house in Sahakar Nagar, Indore, locals burnt Sonam’s photo and expressed anger over the murder.
Meghalaya Police gets 7-day transit remand
Meghalaya Police has obtained a 7-day transit remand of the three contract killers arrested in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case. They were produced in a court in Indore on Monday which sent them to the transit custody of the Meghalaya Police for seven days.
An Indore police official said, “The Meghalaya Police will take the three people with them on the basis of transit custody and will question them in detail. We have come to know that these accused know each other before. Two of these accused are friends of Raj Kushwaha.”
Confirming the development, the East Khasi Hills SP said the Meghalaya Police team is expected to bring the five accused — Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi — to Shillong by Tuesday, following the court’s approval of the transit remand. The SIT is bringing Sonam and the others to Patna by road from where they will board a flight to Guwahati and travel by road to Shillong on Tuesday. (With PTI inputs)
Chronology
> Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam Raghuvanshi were married on May 11.
> Nine days later, on May 20, they left for their honeymoon in Meghalaya.
> On May 22, the couple visited Sohra, a popular tourist destination, and rented a two-wheeler from Sagar Sen Samal for four days. That evening, they explored Mawalkhait village before hiring a guide to visit the famous double-decker bridge in Nongriat village.
> On May 23, the village head informed the police that the couple’s rented scooty had been left unattended with the key still in the ignition at Golden Pines eatery at Sohrarim.
> The same day, both Raja and Sonam spoke to their families, with Sonam specifically calling her mother-in-law.
> By May 24, Raja’s family began searching for the rental service that had provided the two-wheeler. On May 27, the Madhya Pradesh government intervened.
> Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, a native of Indore, informed Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the case. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav also reached out to Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma.
> During the search, police discovered two bags near a gorge.
> On May 28, Indore Member of Parliament Shankar Lalwani arrived in Shillong and met senior police officers.
> On May 29, heavy rains forced Meghalaya Police to halt their search operation.
> The search resumed on May 30 but was again suspended due to bad weather on May 31.
> On June 2, police recovered Raja’s body from a gorge.
> On June 3, authorities confirmed that Raja had been murdered using a ‘dao’, a tool commonly used for cutting wood and trees.
> On June 4, Raja’s body was transported to Indore.
> On June 5, CCTV footage surfaced showing the couple checking into a hotel in Shillong.
> On June 7, another CCTV clip emerged, showing Raja and Sonam adjusting their belongings in a suitcase outside a hotel.
> Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to initiate a CBI probe into the case.
> On June 9, Sonam was found at Kashi Dhaba in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. Meghalaya DGP Idashisha Nongrang later revealed that she had plotted and actively participated in Raja’s murder.