Cops Knew Sonam Raghuvanshi Was Behind Meghayala Honeymoon Murder Days Before She Surrendered

The Meghalaya Police knew on June 3, a day after they found the body of Raja Raghuvanshi in a gorge, that Sonam Raghuvanshi was involved in the honeymoon murder. The Meghalaya Police has claimed that all those involved in the conspiracy to kill the man from Indore have been arrested in the operation that they codenamed 'Operation Honeymoon'.

There were 20 core members in the team that cracked the 'missing-turned-murder mystery' case, sources in the police said. 120 police personnel were involved in the case, they added.

Sonam had allegedly hired killers to get rid of her husband during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, just days after their marriage in Indore, the Meghalaya Police said.

Raids were conducted at several places, and the profiles of three accused were checked. It was then that Sonam Raghuvanshi was seen with the accused, 10 kilometres away from the site where her husband was killed.

The arrested accused told cops that it was Sonam who asked them to hit Raja Raghuvanshi and that he was killed in front of her, the sources said.

"All the accused followed the newlyweds to Guwahati on May 21 and to Shillong on May 22. They killed Raja the next day," they added.

They bought the murder weapon from a shop outside a hotel in Guwahati. As per the preliminary autopsy report, he was hit twice, once each on the back and front of his head.

All the accused in the murder case, including Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Chauhan and Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi, have been arrested.

Sonam's alleged lover Raj did not travel to Meghalaya but Shillong Police sources suggest he did the planning behind the scenes and was in touch with Sonam.

Sonam had come to Meghalaya only to murder her husband, the sources said.

Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam had gone to Meghalaya for their honeymoon days after their May 11 wedding. They went missing on May 23. Raghuvanshi's body was found in a gorge near a waterfall in Sohra area (also known as Cherrapunji) of East Khasi Hills district on June 2.

On May 23, Sonam Raghuvanshi left Meghalaya for Indore, where she met with his alleged lover and the co-conspirator in the murder, Raj Kushwaha, the sources said.

She stayed at a rented room in Indore for a day, and then she was dropped by a driver to Uttar Pradesh.

Sonam Raghuvanshi surrendered before the Nandganj Police Station in Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh and was later placed under arrest, according to the Meghalaya police.

The couple did not take any photos of themselves in Maghalaya and that's what made the cops suspicious, the sources said.

"The police had come to know on June 3 itself that Sonam was involved in the murder. Akash's shirt was found at the crime scene, soaked in blood. Sonam had given her raincoat to Akash, which was found 6 km away from the crime scene. This was done to mislead the investigation. When Anand Kurmi was caught, he was wearing the same clothes that he was wearing at the time of the incident," they added.