Interrogation to begin today, says EKH police chief Vivek Syiem
SHILLONG, June 11: A local court in Shillong on Wednesday sent the mastermind of honeymoon murder case Sonam Raghuvanshi, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha and three other accused to eight-day police custody.
Sonam was brought to Shillong in the wee hours from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh and later, taken to Ganesh Das Hospital for a medical examination.
A pregnancy test as part of the procedure was also conducted and she tested negative. She spent the night at the Sadar Police Station.
The co-accused – Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand Kurmi – were brought from Indore in the morning, followed by their medical examinations and interrogation by the police at the Sadar Police Station.
After the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had prepared all the documents, the five, including Sonam, were brought to the court in a convoy of vehicles under tight security.
Sources said the police had sought 10-day remand of all the accused persons but the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class granted 8-day police remand after a hearing that lasted 45 minutes.
A large number of media persons and citizens had gathered, outside the Sadar Police Station and outside the court complex, to catch a glimpse of the accused persons. Many government employees captured the entire episode on their mobile phones, some from rooftop.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said the exact sequence of events will be shared after the completion of the interrogation of the accused.
“At this stage, the facts are fluid—one person says one thing and another says something else. We will be in a position to confirm the facts only after a thorough interrogation. In such cases, it is common for the accused to shift blame onto each other,” the SP said.
Asked about media reports that claimed Sonam had admitted to her involvement in the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, Syiem said, “Let us not jump to conclusions. We have just got the custody of the accused here. While it is possible that certain statements were made during interrogations in other states, we will need to verify and corroborate the roles of each accused with evidence.”
On whether more people could be involved, Syiem said this will become clearer as the investigation progresses. “If others are involved, we will identify them in due course,” he added.
Based on preliminary findings, Syiem believes the crime took place near the location where the body was discovered.
When asked whether the crime scene would be recreated, he said that while it is an important step, it is not mandatory.
“If needed, we will definitely recreate the crime scene. It depends on the developments during the investigation,” Syiem stated.
He confirmed that Sonam’s pregnancy test was negative. He added that the investigation is still at a crucial stage and if needed, the police might seek further custody of the accused persons.
The SP further added that they are now focused on building a strong, watertight case to ensure successful prosecution.