Sonam Raghuvanshi, the wife of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, who was killed in Meghalaya while on honeymoon, had a plan B in case the hired killers had failed to execute the meticulously planned murder of her husband.
Sonam, who married Raja on May 11, had planned the murder with her suspected lover Raj Kushwaha before convincing her husband to go on a honeymoon. Kushwaha worked at the furniture sheet shop of Sonam’s brother in Indore.
According to Meghalaya police, Sonam and Raj hired contract killers to execute the murder, but Sonam also had a plan B in case they failed. As per media reports, Sonam told Kushwaha that she would push Raja off the cliff while clicking a selfie if the hitmen they hired are unable ot kill him.
Meghalaya police knew about Sonam’s involvement days before her arrest
The Meghalaya police, which began the investigation as that of a “missing couple”, knew about Sonam’s alleged involvement in Raja’s murder days before the arrest of the accused.
According to reports, Sonam returned to the hotel where she was staying with Raja on May 23 alone and had dinner. She lied to her mother-in-law that she was keeping “Ekadashi” fast even when they were tracking. The hotel staff told the police that Sonam returned alone and had ordered food.
Also, a local guide told investigators that the couple was not alone on May 23 and that three other Hindi-speaking men accompanied them.
When the police recovered Raja’s body and the murder weapon, they knew someone outside the region was involved, as the machete, used to kill the victim, was not commonly used in the area. Later, they also found a blood-stained red and black jacket of Sonam, which also indicated her involvement. Sonam was wearing the same jacket in a CCTV footage of May 23.
When the police began investigating her call records, they found she was in touch with Raj Kushwaha. She had also called one of the killers on the day of the murder. Their mobile locations were not far away from each other, hinting that she may have shared the location with the co-accused.
Some reports even claimed that Sonam returned to Indore after the murder and stayed with Raj Kushwaha, who then arranged a cab to drop her at Varanasi.
From Varanasi, she went to Ghazipur, also the hometown of Kushwaha and co-accused in the murder, Raj Kushwaha.
When Sonam got the whiff that the police were closing in on Raj and other killers, she surrendered before the police in Ghazipur.
During the initial interrogation, Kushwaha and the other accused have reportedly confessed to murder and told police that Sonam was involved.
Meanwhile, all the accused have been sent into transit custody of the Meghalaya police. They were taken to Shillong, where police will produce them before a Chief Magisterial court.
