Op Honeymoon Details: How Sonam Escaped After Husband's Murder, Reached UP

The murder of Raja Raghuvanshi allegedly by his wife Sonam and her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha during their honeymoon in Meghalaya remains one of the country's most intriguing murder mysteries. NDTV has now accessed exclusive details about Operation Honeymoon that Meghalaya police undertook to track Sonam and her alleged associates.

Raja and Sonam were last seen checking out of Shipara Homestay in Meghalaya's Nongriat village on May 23. His body was found in a gorge on June 2. Sonam surfaced a week later in Uttar Pradesh to face charges that she and her boyfriend had hired three hitmen - Akash, Anand, and Vikash - to kill Raja.

Sources in the police team that cracked the case have revealed the chain of events that seek to establish Sonam's whereabouts after the murder, as the cops try to establish the prime suspect's modus operandi.

How Sonam Escaped

Sonam and Raj had made the murder plan just a few days after her May 11 wedding with Raja. Nine days later, on May 20, they left for Meghalaya for their honeymoon. A day later, they were in the state capital Shillong.

The hitmen arrived in Guwahati on May 21. From there, they reached Shillong on May 22, following Sonam and Raja. The murder apparently occurred on May 23, the day the couple went untraceable.

Sonam was seen about 10 kilometres away from the crime location, and the murder occurred before her, sources said. It was Sonam who had directed the hitmen to kill Raja, the three accused have claimed.

After the murder, all four accused assembled 11 kilometers away from the crime scene (Raj did not travel to Meghalaya). Sonam then reached Guwahati from where she left for her hometown by train. She arrived in Indore on May 25 and met Raj, who had arranged a room on rent for her to stay. Raj, meanwhile, stayed in another hotel nearby.

They later arranged a car that took her to Uttar Pradesh, said sources.

Sonam surrendered in Ghazipur late at night on June 8, with police claiming that she was found in a distraught state and with a fever.

Operation Honeymoon

Meghalaya cops began Operation Honeymoon and formed a 20-member core team among the 120 personnel investigating the case. They carried out raids at the suspects' locations on June 7 and checked the profiles of the three suspected killers who were seen with Sonam.

The accused were seen in about 42 footage from the area in Indore where they were staying.

During their investigation, the police found that the couple had bought a machete from a shop outside their hotel in Guwahati. It is likely the same weapon that was used to kill Raja and was found near his body.

What appeared odd in the investigation was that the couple did not take any photos together. No photos were shared on social media. This is where the cops suspected something was amiss, said sources.

At 2:15 pm on May 23, Sonam allegedly used Raja's social media account to post that their union was for seven lives. Sonam was already among the suspects since Raja's body was found, but the dramatic post convinced the cops that her behaviour wasn't normal.

The cops had also found Akash's shirt soaked in blood at the crime scene. Sonam had given him her raincoat that was found 6 km away from there, sources said, claiming this was part of her plan to mislead the police.