Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has said the state police will take what has been dubbed the "honeymoon murder" to its logical conclusion. "We will do whatever it takes. Our government and state have been defamed (even though) none of the accused are from Meghalaya," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Raja Raghuvanshi, 29, and his 24-year-old wife Sonam -- newlyweds from Indore -- had arrived in Meghalaya for their honeymoon on May 21. Three days later, they went missing and on June 2, after days of search, Raja Raghuvanshi's body was recovered from a gorge beneath Weisawdong Falls in East Khasi Hills.
The body bore multiple wounds, indicating murder and a hunt was on for his wife.
Sonam Raghuvanshi was arrested earlier today from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. The Meghalaya police suspect that she was having an affair and her boyfriend is also involved. The police said she had orchestrated the murder in connivance with her boyfriend, Raj Kushwaha, and hired contract killers to execute it.
Kushwaha was an employee of Sonam and they spoke a lot on phone, claimed Raja Raghuvanshi's brother Vipul. "I have never seen Raj Kushwaha; I've just heard his name," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Read: The Cop Who Cracked Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder Case
Sonam Raghuvanshi has claimed that her husband was killed while trying to protect her from a "group of men who attempted to snatch her jewellery," said the owner of a roadside eatery in Ghazipur whom she had approached for help. She had no explanation, though, on how she reached Uttar Pradesh.
She had given him the phone number of her family and he had called them. Shortly after the call, the local police were informed, and the woman had surrendered.
Read: "Husband Was Killed While Saving Me": Sonam Raghuvanshi To UP Dhaba Owner
"Our state is very peaceful. We respect tourists. Whatever happened was wrong. We have caught four accused. We will bring them all to Meghalaya," Mr Sangma told NDTV.
Read: Wife's Affair Led To Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder, Boyfriend Involved: Cops
The couple, who were initially bound for Assam to visit the kamakhya temple, changed their plans and went to Meghalaya.
Sonam Raghuvanshi has now been named as a prime accused in the murder and her boyfriend was the mastermind, sources said. Three others - Vicky Thakur, Akash, and Anand - are believed to have carried out the murder.
