'I didn't kill my husband': What Sonam Raghuvanshi told UP cops, what she didn't

INDORE: In a dramatic turn in the honeymoon murder case, Sonam, who had vanished for over two weeks, was found at a highway dhaba around 2am on Monday. She was picked up from Kashi Dhaba after calling her brother from the eatery owner’s phone — a move that triggered a multi-state alert.Acting swiftly, Indore police coordinated with their UP counterparts to trace her location. She was taken into custody under Nandganj police station limits. She surrendered without resistance.After being taken into custody, Sonam told Ghazipur police, “I didn’t kill my husband. They killed him for the jewellery,” referring to the four arrested men — her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha, along with Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi.While she insisted she played no role in Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder, Sonam refused to explain where she had been for the past 16 days, how she escaped the scene near the Meghalaya waterfalls where Raja’s body was found, or how she reached Kashi Dhaba on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway in Uttar Pradesh — nearly 1,200 km from the forest gorge. Her silence on these critical questions has kept investigators guessing.A Special Investigation Team (SIT) — including SDRF, NDRF, and intelligence agencies — is probing the case, which has drawn nationwide attention.

Both families have demanded a CBI inquiry, even as more twists continue to unfold. “She was extremely scared and barely able to speak,” a woman present at the scene told police. The dhaba owner, Sahil Yadav, has also given a statement.East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem alleged that Sonam had been sharing her live location with Raj Kushwaha throughout the couple’s northeast trip. Investigators suspect that the killers began trailing the newlyweds after their visit to the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.

While Raj stayed back in Indore, his associates — Akash, Vishal, and Anand — allegedly travelled to Assam by train to execute the plan."The murder weapon was purchased in Guwahati," an officer in Indore said. Sonam reportedly pushed Raja to extend their stay in Shillong - a move now seen as part of a premeditated plan."All the dots connected to indicate that there was prior planning," SP Syiem said. "We will confirm everything once the accused are interrogated together." Sonam insisted Raja wear jewellery: MomRaja Raghuvanshi’s mother, Uma, recalled subtle signs of trouble in her son’s short-lived marriage. “Raja once told me Sonam wasn’t talking to him much. He felt she wasn’t interested in him. When I asked her about it, she said she was busy with work at the office. I told her Raja is shy and feels hurt when ignored, and urged her to talk to him more. She spoke very sweetly with me. I had no idea what she was hiding,” Uma said.“If she was forced into the marriage, she could have simply left my son or eloped, why did she kill him?” she asked repeatedly, her voice heavy with disbelief. “Raja had done nothing wrong. He loved her. We had accepted her with all our heart. She became our daughter-in-law, part of our family. And this is what she did.”Raja, a 28-year-old transporter, married Sonam on May 11.