Meghalaya honeymoon murder: From accused Sonam to her ‘boyfriend’ – check who all are involved in Raja's killing

Meghalaya honeymoon murder: As the Meghalaya Police intensified its probe into the sensational murder of an Indore-based businessman, it, along with the Indore police, also released photos and names of the five accused held in the case.

Raja Raghuvanshi was allegedly killed by his wife Sonam while the newly-wed couple was on their honeymoon in Meghalaya. His body was found in a gorge on June 2, ten days after the couple had gone missing. Sonam had surfaced at a dhaba in Ghazipur on June 9.

Sonam, who the cops said had surrendered, has been taken into custody, along with four others. Cops have named Sonam as the prime accused, and arrested – Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Raj Singh Kushwaha, and Anand Kurmi – other accused in connection with the Meghalaya honeymoon murder case.

Who all are involved in Raja Raghuvanshi's murder?

The first and the prime accused in the murder case is Raja's wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi. Chilling details kept emerging Monday through Tuesday, with news reports claiming that Sonam had offered ₹20 lakh to hired killers for the murder of her husband. Another report said she pretended to be tired and walked behind her husband right before she instructed the four accused to kill Raja.

A News18 report, which quoted sources, said that Sonam claimed innocence and alleged abduction. She said she was not an accused, but a victim in the case, the report added. She has, however, been sent to a transit remand and will be flown to Shillong for further investigation.

Raja and Sonam got married on May 11 and had left for their honeymoon to Meghalaya on May 20. Search for them began after their rented scooter was found abandoned along the road from Shillong to Sohra on May 24.

The second accused, also Sonam's alleged boyfriend, Raj Singh Kushwaha, has been sent to a seven-day transit remand. Cops have alleged that Raj was the ‘mastermind’ behind the murder and was handling it “from outside”, a News18 report said.

The third accused, 19-year-old Akash Rajput, was arrested from Lalitpur, and also sent to a seven-day transit remand, along with three other accused. The fourth accused, 22-year-old Vishal Singh Chauhan, was arrested from Indore.

Vishal's residence in Indore was searched by the police on Tuesday, where clothes which he wore while he was in Shillong were recovered. Cops are now looking for his mobile phone.

"We have recovered the clothes that he (Vishal) had worn while he was in Shillong on the day of the incident. They have accepted that they have committed the murder. We are searching for his mobile," news agency ANI quoted ACP (Indore Crime Branch), Poonamchand Yadav as saying.

Anand Kurmi, originally from Bina and the fifth accused in the case, was also arrested and sent to seven-day transit custody, the report added.

Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Tuesday said that some of the accused have confessed to the crime, and all of the arrested accused will be taken to Shillong tomorrow, if not tonight.

“All the accused have been arrested in different places - one in Madhya Pradesh, other in UP… Some of them have also confessed about the crime committed by them… We have got the transit remand, most likely if not tonight, then tomorrow all of them will be in Shillong,” he told ANI.

Local guide identifies one of the suspects

A local tourist guide, who alerted police about the presence of three men accompanying newlyweds Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi on the day they went missing, on Tuesday claimed that he identified one of the suspects after seeing some photographs.

Albert Pde, the guide at Mawlakhiat told PTI, "I could identify one of the suspects from the photos provided by police."

"I am happy that the criminals are finally behind the bars. We stand vindicated. Those who tried to tarnish the image of Sohra and its people as violent have now been exposed," Pde added.

(With inputs from agencies)