In Honeymoon Murder Case, Cops Write To Instagram Over Vlogger's Videos

The Meghalaya police have written to social media platform Instagram seeking details on the vlogger who posted two videos showing the Raghuvanshis and the three killers climbing a hill in the state on May 23 - just hours before Raja's murder. According to the police, they contacted him initially to record his statement, but received no response.

"We reached out to him and have written to Instagram to provide us with details. We've only contacted him so far, but he hasn't responded. We've now officially requested Instagram's assistance so that his statement can also be recorded," East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, Vivek Syiem, said.

The tourist, Dev Singh, posted the first video on May 16 in which Sonam was leading the way up the hill, with Raja following her. She was seen wearing a white t-shirt - which was found by the Meghalaya police near the crime scene. She was also carrying a polythene bag, which reportedly had a raincoat inside.

"Yesterday, I was checking videos and I found a recording of the Indore couple. It was around 9:45 am when we were going down, and the couple was going up. I think this was the last recording of the couple, and Sonam was wearing the same white t-shirt, which was found near Raja. I hope this will also help Meghalaya police in connecting the dots," Mr Singh wrote on Instagram.

He added, "Every time I watched Raja in the video, I felt very bad about him. He was looking normal but unaware of what would be waiting for him."

Another video, posted a day later, shows the three killers - Anand Kurmi, Akash Rajput, and Vishal Chauhan - following the Raghuvanshis.

Sources familiar with the sequence of events leading to the grisly murder on May 23 said the newlywed couple had checked out of a hotel at around 5.30 am and set out on a trek in Cherrapunji half an hour later. Sonam's three accomplices, who were staying at a nearby homestay, also checked out around the same time. Around 10 am, Sonam and Raja completed around 2,000 steps along the trek route when they met the three hired killers. According to sources, as the hitmen and Raja began talking, Sonam gradually slowed down and started walking behind them.

Around 12:30 pm, Sonam called Raja's mother, Uma Raghuvanshi, and told her that she was exhausted due to the trek. Raja also spoke to his mother - in their last conversation. An hour later, the group of five (Raja, Sonam, and the three hitmen) drove from Mawlakhiat to the parking lot at Wei Sawdong Waterfalls. Upon reaching, the hitmen killed Raja and threw his body into a gorge.

The newlywed couple was initially reported "missing".

But on June 2, cops found Raja's body, turning a missing persons investigation into a murder probe. On the night of June 7, Sonam surrendered before the police, and was subsequently taken into custody.

Preliminary investigation revealed that during their honeymoon, Sonam and Raja carried four phones ( of which three belonged to Sonam). After the three hitmen killed her husband, Sonam broke his phone and threw the damaged device, the police said.

The other three mobile phones that belonged to Sonam are still missing, and the police are searching for them.