By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 12: East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem on Thursday said all five accused in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case have confessed to their roles in the crime.
The confession was made just a day after a court in Shillong had sent the accused to eight-day police custody.
Syiem said Raja’s wife Sonam Raghuvanshi, her alleged boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and the three alleged assailants—Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi—admitted to their involvement, with Sonam herself being an active conspirator.
He said the entire plot was hatched well before the wedding of Raja and Sonam, and it traced its origins back to Indore. Raj was the mastermind, and Sonam, Syiem added, was not merely aware but participated in executing the plan.
The three alleged killers, aged between 19 and 21, were friends — one of them being Raj’s cousin. The crime was not a typical contract killing. According to Syiem, they carried it out as a favour for Raj.
He said as early as February, the group began brainstorming ideas on how to make Sonam disappear. The plans included drowning her in a river or staging her death by murdering another woman, burning the body on a scooty, and then claiming it was Sonam. These plans, however, never materialised.
Syiem detailed how after Sonam and Raja got married and travelled to Kamakhya for a darshan, the three assailants arrived in the Northeast on May 19 with the intention of carrying out the murder. Their initial plan to eliminate Raja in Guwahati failed. Sonam, the SP said, then suggested the trip to Shillong and Sohra, which led the group to Nongriat.
From Nongriat, the group moved towards Weisawdong. At the parking lot near the falls, all three men took turns, hacking Raja to death in Sonam’s presence. The murder took place between 2 pm and 2:18 pm.
After the killing, Sonam handed her bloodstained raincoat to Akash, who wore it to conceal his bloodied shirt. She then rode one of the two-wheelers while Akash got off at AV Point to discard the bloodstained raincoat. Syiem said forensic confirmation established the presence of blood on the raincoat, which is being sent for further analysis.
Afterwards, Akash took over the scooty and Sonam became the pillion rider. Anand rode the scooty that was hired by Raja and Sonam. It was abandoned in Sohra Rim. Sonam then changed locations, and Syiem mentioned that just after Lad Mawphlang, she boarded a taxi.
Vishal Chauhan (alias Vicky) handed her a burqa that Raj had arranged. Disguised, she reached Police Bazar, took a tourist taxi to Guwahati, and from there, travelled to ISBT in Lokhra. She boarded a bus to Siliguri, switched buses again to reach Patna, took a bus from Ara, and then a train to Lucknow, finally arriving in Indore.
Syiem noted that a turning point came when local media interviewed a guide (Albert Pde) who had taken Raja and Sonam on the trek. The guide reportedly mentioned that there were three additional individuals — a revelation that alarmed the group.
Syiem said after learning that they were being profiled, Raj told Sonam to flee Indore and reappear in Siliguri, pretending to be a victim of abduction. However, her exit coincided with the police operation in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. When the first arrest happened in Uttar Pradesh, Raj — unaware that it was the police in civilian dress — panicked and instructed Sonam to call her family and claim she had escaped abduction.
When asked about the alleged Rs 20 lakh transaction, Syiem responded that, as of the first day of interrogation, there was no substantial evidence of a large financial exchange. He said Raj had given the trio Rs 50,000 to cover their expenses, and considering Raj’s poor financial background, a large sum seemed unlikely. He, however, did not rule out probing property or financial angles further, but reiterated that it currently appeared to be driven by a love angle, with Raj orchestrating the plan.
Syiem also revealed that the group had tried multiple times to kill Raja — first in Guwahati, then in Nongriat, followed by another attempt between Mawlakhiat and Weisawdong, when Raja went to relieve himself. Each of those attempts failed. It was only at Weisawdong that the plan was executed successfully.
When asked about where Sonam stayed after the murder, Syiem declined to disclose the location, stating that further investigation is ongoing. On being asked if Sonam’s family was aware of her relationship with Raj or had forced her into marriage, Syiem said that was outside the scope of the current investigation. However, he admitted that it was clear that Sonam was in love with Raj but had entered into an arranged marriage with Raja. It remains to be verified if the family knew of the affair.
Regarding why Sonam would go through with a marriage only to eliminate Raja later, Syiem said she mentioned being forced into the marriage and had simply carried on, eventually leading to the murder plan. Asked whether she showed remorse, Syiem stated he had not personally interrogated her and could not speak to her emotional state.
On who first suggested the idea to kill Raja, Syiem reiterated that Raj was the mastermind, with Sonam as a willing partner. He added that there was no formal reconnaissance or recce done, except in Guwahati, where the group arrived on May 19 and had a couple of days to scout the area. In Shillong, however, things happened more spontaneously.
Syiem confirmed that the final plan was drawn up around 11 days before the marriage. On June 2, when Raja’s body was discovered, Sonam was in Indore. The SP also clarified that the police did not initially suspect murder, as the area was considered peaceful and tourist-friendly. Only after discovering the body did the police begin suspecting foul play and piece together the chain of events.
He said a combination of data, evidence, witness accounts, and profiling helped identify the accused. Syiem said while the charge sheet deadline is 90 days, they will aim to file it much earlier.
Asked about the recreation of the crime scene, he said that would only take place once they had a clear picture, as the accused were being held in separate locations and facts were still being verified. He added that Sonam’s plan had been to fake her abduction and resurface in Siliguri, hoping the body would remain undiscovered or decompose to a point where identification would be difficult. This, he said, was likely an attempt to delay the investigation while she played the victim.
Lastly, Syiem confirmed that Raja was targeted on four occasions — in Guwahati, Nongriat, on the way from Mawlakhiat to Weisawdong, and finally, at Weisawdong, where the murder was executed. He emphasised that this was just the beginning of interrogation and that more details would emerge in the days to come.
Meanwhile, DIG (Eastern Range) Davis NR Marak disclosed that during the initial stage of the investigation, police recovered a suitcase from a homestay in Sohra, which Raja and Sonam had left there.
“Inside the suitcase, we found a mangalsutra and a ring. This raised suspicion that she (Sonam) might still be alive at that point. After all, why would a tourist leave behind her mangalsutra just to go sightseeing?” he questioned.