INDORE, April 28: The family of slain Indore resident Raja Raghuvanshi on Tuesday sought to know how his wife Sonam was granted bail by a court in Meghalaya despite being the “mastermind” of his murder, and demanded a CBI probe into the case.
Seeking justice, they said they will move the Meghalaya High Court against the lower court’s decision to grant bail to Sonam.
Talking to reporters after the development, Raja’s mother Uma, who was choked with emotion, said she couldn’t understand how Sonam was granted bail despite being the “mastermind” of her son’s murder.
“The Meghalaya Police thoroughly investigated the case over the past nine months, but it was beyond our understanding how the game suddenly changed in a month or two,” she said.
“We only demand one thing from the government – justice for my innocent son, who was murdered. I want a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into this case,” she added.
Vipin Raghuvanshi, Raja’s elder brother, said his family will challenge the lower court’s decision to grant bail to Sonam in the Meghalaya High Court.
“While arguing for Sonam’s bail application in the court, her lawyer primarily emphasised that the Meghalaya Police did not properly inform her of the specific reason for her arrest, violating legal provisions,” he said.
Vipin suspected “manipulation” in the investigation, saying the prosecution has not yet provided him with a copy of the chargesheet, nor has he had a chance to properly review it.
Sonam was arrested on June 9, 2025, from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh for her alleged involvement in the conspiracy to murder her husband, and was in judicial custody in Shillong District Jail for more than 10 months.
In September last year, the Meghalaya Police submitted a 790-page chargesheet, naming eight people, including Sonam, her alleged boyfriend Raj Kushwaha, the three hitmen— Akash Rajput, Anand Kurmi, and Vishal Singh Chauhan, besides three other accused — Shilom James, Balla Ahirwar, and Lokendra Singh Tomar.
James, Ahirwar and Tomar, who were accused of concealing or destroying evidence, have already been granted bail.
The honeymoon murder case, as it came to be known, drew national attention due to the shocking revelation that a wife allegedly orchestrated her husband’s murder with the help of her lover.
The case sparked a significant controversy regarding Meghalaya’s reputation as a safe travel destination.
Initially, while Raja and Sonam were reported missing, a section of the national media and social media users began blaming the people of Meghalaya, making racist comments and describing the state as a “den of criminals”.
Speculations suggested that Raja might have been killed by locals or that Sonam had been abducted.
When the truth emerged that the murder was planned by individuals from the couple’s home region, a wave of outrage ensured, with then ministers A.L. Hek and Paul Lyngdoh demanding a public apology from the Raghuvanshi family and the media for tarnishing the state’s image, threatening legal action for defamation. (PTI)
