Sonam Raghuvanshi murdered her husband Raja in May.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police has filed its chargesheet in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case, and charged the victim's wife Sonam Raghuvanshi, her lover Raj Kushwaha and three others with murder.
In a statement, Meghalaya Police said a 790-page chargesheet was filed in the court of the Judicial Magistrate first class, Sohra Sub-Division, in connection with the murder of the Indore-based businessman that sent shockwaves across the country earlier this year.
All the five accused have been arrested and are currently in judicial custody. Besides Sonam and Raj, Akash Rajput, Anand Kurmi and Vishal Singh Chauhan have been charged for allegedly helping the woman murder her husband during their honeymoon on May 23.
All the accused have been charged under sections 103 (I) for murder, 238 (a) for disappearance of evidence of offence and 61 (2) for criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said a supplementary chargesheet will be submitted against the three more co-accused after the additional forensic reports are out. He was referring to property dealer Silome James, Lokendra Tomar, the owner of the building where Sonam was hiding after committing the crime and the area's security guard Balbir Ahirbar.
James, Tomar and Ahirbar, who were arrested on charges of destruction and concealment of evidence, are currently out on bail.
The case initially began as that of a "missing couple", after 29-year-old Raja and 24-year-old Sonam could not be traced in the northeastern state, but took a tragic turn and revealed a shocking betrayal.
The couple - both from Indore - got married on May 11. According to the police, the wedding took place despite Sonam's relationship with Raj, who worked as an accountant at the furniture sheet unit owned by her family. Sonam used to look after the family business.
After their wedding in Indore, Raja and Sonam travelled to Meghalaya for honeymoon. They disappeared on May 23, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where Raja's body was found on June 2.
Amid an intense search for "missing" Sonam, she surfaced in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur on June 8 and later surrendered at Nandganj police station. This came hours after Akash, Vishal, and Anand were arrested from Uttar Pradesh and Indore and Sagar towns (in Madhya Pradesh). Raj was arrested later.
On June 11, Sonam reportedly confessed to killing her husband.
Sonam's brother Govind said his family has snapped all ties with her. He also expressed solidarity with Raja's grieving family members and vowed to help them in their fight for justice in a case that shocked the nation.
