Meghalaya honeymoon horror: Wife behind husband’s murder, allege police

Sonam Raghuvanshi, a 24-year-old woman from Indore, allegedly orchestrated the murder of her husband — Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in the scenic town of Sohra in Meghalaya, state DGP I Nongrang said on Monday, revealing the details of the shocking crime that triggered a manhunt across three states.
Raja was killed by men allegedly hired by Sonam, who went ‘missing’ and surfaced in UP’s Ghazipur where she surrendered at the Nandganj police station after the arrest of three assailants — Akash Rajput (19), Vishal Singh Chauhan (22), and Raj Singh Kushwaha (21) — in overnight raids, police said.
“The first person arrested was Rajput from Lalitpur in UP. The second was Chauhan from Indore in MP. The third was Kushwaha, also from Indore,” East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said at a press conference in Shillong.
In the afternoon, Anand Kurmi (23) was arrested in MP’s Sagar district, he said.
Sonam was taken into custody by the Meghalaya Police around 6.30 pm, and legal process for her transit to the northeastern state is underway, officials said.
The three persons arrested in MP were sent to Meghalaya on a seven-day transit remand by a district court in Indore, they said.
The victim, Raja Raghuvanshi, was found dead in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls in East Khasi Hills district on June 2, ten days after the couple went missing.
Raja and Sonam, who got married on May 11 in Indore, went to Meghalaya on their honeymoon. They disappeared on May 23, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where his body was found.
Raja’s relatives identified the body through a distinctive tattoo on his right hand. A woman’s white shirt, a strip of medicine, a part of the LCD screen of a mobile phone, and a smartwatch were also seized at the spot.
Police also recovered a bloodstained machete (dao), which they believe was used in Raja’s murder.
A raincoat, also believed to belong to the couple, was recovered from Mawkma village, a few kilometres away from the gorge where Raja’s body was found.
Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said Sonam, a resident of Govindnagar Khandsa in Indore, was found at Kashi Dhaba on the Varanasi-Ghazipur main road.
Raja’s autopsy report revealed that he was hit twice on the head with a sharp object.
Syiem said the police saw two cuts on his head during the inquest after the body was taken out of the gorge.