CCTV clip shows Sonam busy with phone day before Raja's murder; device missing

A new CCTV footage has surfaced showing Indore businessman Raja Suryavanshi and his wife Sonam at a Shillong guest house just a day before he was allegedly murdered during their honeymoon trip in Meghalaya.

The footage, accessed by India Today TV, shows the couple leaving the guest house on May 22 after staying overnight. While both are seen preparing to depart, Sonam appears preoccupied with her mobile phone throughout the clip.

Taking a close look at the clip, Sonam is seen holding her mobile and appears to be talking to someone. Even after leaving the hotel premises, she continues her conversation until she gets on a scooter.

That mobile phone, police say, is now missing and believed to hold critical evidence. The Shillong Police are searching for the device.

The newly revealed video adds to a growing body of evidence helping police reconstruct the timeline leading up to the murder.

Another CCTV clip from May 21 had shown the couple checking into the same guest house. On May 23, they were caught on CCTV arriving on a scooter at a second homestay in Shillong to drop off their luggage before riding off again. That same day, after travelling to Sohra in the Cherrapunji area, the couple lost contact with their families.

Raja (29) and Sonam (24) had tied the knot on May 11 and travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon. Days after they were reported missing, Raja’s body was discovered at the bottom of a gorge near Weisawdong Falls, nearly 20 kilometres from the homestay.

The "missing" Sonam resurfaced a week later in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and surrendered to the authorities. Police had already arrested her alleged accomplices—Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi—accused of being contract killers hired to murder Raja. According to police, the three killer Raja right in front of Sonam.

Raj Kushwaha (21), Sonam’s boyfriend, was arrested later for being part of the murder plot.

All five suspects have been remanded to eight days of police custody by a court in Shillong. Further investigation into the sensational murder case is on.