Indore: The parents of Sonam Raghuvanshi have denied police claims that their daughter was involved in the murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, terming the allegations “baseless” and calling for a fair investigation.
The couple from Indore had gone missing on 23 May. A week later, on 2 June, Raja’s decomposed body was found in Meghalaya, raising suspicions of foul play. The search for Sonam had continued at the time.
On Monday, after over 2 weeks underground, Sonam surrendered to police in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and was arrested. She is now the prime suspect in the case, accused of orchestrating her husband’s murder by allegedly hiring assailants.
“We had gotten them properly married. They were engaged for 3 months,” Sonam’s father, Devi Singh Raghuvanshi said to the media Monday morning. “The allegations levied against Sonam about her involvement in her husband’s murder are baseless. The police were getting stuck in solving Raja’s murder and so have blamed it on Sonam,”.
“Unless there is a proper investigation, how can you say that Sonam has murdered her husband? What the Meghalaya CM is saying is wrong,” he added.
Sonam’s mother Sangeeta said she is shocked by the murder allegation.
“I just received a call that my daughter has been found and now they are accusing her of murder. It was an arranged marriage, but she was happy with the wedding. I do not wish to say anything more on the subject unless there is a proper investigation,” she said to media persons.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said she Sonam surrendered and three “assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh” had been arrested, Since then, one more has been arrested.
The arrested accused include Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Anand Kurmi and Vishal Singha Chauhan. According to sources Kushwaha is the mastermind behind the murder.
Sonam and Raja were married on 11 May and left for their honeymoon on 20 May. The couple arrived in Mawlakhiat on 22 May and rented a scooter for 4 days. The scooter was later found abandoned near a roadside eatery enroute Meghalaya’s Sohra, prompting a police search.
Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found in a deep gorge in Sohra on 2 June.
Uttar Pradesh ADG Amitabh Yash said Sonam was traced after she called her parents around 3 am, saying she was at a dhaba on the Banaras-Ghazipur highway.
“This information was shared by Sonam’s family with Indore Police, who then informed the Uttar Pradesh police. Soon after this information was received, Sonam was detained from Kashi dhaba and taken to the hospital for a medical check-up and taken to one one-stop centre,” he told the media.
He said Meghalaya Police were also present in Indore for the investigation after this information was received.
“Both the Indore Police and Meghalaya Police have left for Uttar Pradesh and are on the way. Soon after they reach here, all the necessary procedures will be completed and Sonam will be handed over to them. Uttar Pradesh has not carried out any investigation into the matter or questioned Sonam. It will be done by the Meghalaya police itself,” he added.
‘Meticulously-planned murder’
According to police, Sonam allegedly arranged for her husband to be killed during the couple’s honeymoon, reportedly hiring killers. After the crime, she fled to Ghazipur.
Meghalaya Police sources told ThePrint that a preliminary probe suggested Sonam and “her lover” had planned the murder “meticulously” before she got married to Raja on 11 May and the plan was to pass it off as a “robbery bid”.
Police said one of the 4 others arrested, Raj Kushwaha, worked as a manager in the factory owned by Sonam’s father. Raj also lived as a tenant in Sonam’s house.
“In a joint operation between Meghalaya and Indore police, three other suspects have been detained. They have been identified as Raj Khuswaha, Vishal Chouhan and Akash Rajput from Nandbagh in Indore. The Meghalaya police is investigating the matter. The fourth suspect is identified as Anand and the search for him is ongoing,” Rajesh Dandotiya, Indore Additional DCP, said to the media.
“They were detained based on the inputs received by Meghalaya Police and it is only after further questioning can any more details on the case be divulged,” he added, emphasising that the investigation is being handled entirely by the Meghalaya police, since the offence was registered at the Sohra Police station.
With inputs from Prashant Srivastava
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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