‘Kamakhya visit before consummation of marriage’: Cops say Sonam used temple ruse to lure husband Raja Raghuvanshi to northeast

NEW DELHI: Raja Raghuvanshi, the Indore-based businessman murdered during his honeymoon in Meghalaya, had been convinced by his wife Sonam to delay consummating the marriage until after a ritual offering at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati — a ruse investigators now say was part of a sinister plot to lure him to the Northeast and have him killed in a remote location. “Sonam told Raja that they should first visit the Kamakhya Devi Temple and offer prayers before consummating the marriage,” a senior investigating officer told PTI on Wednesday. The couple got married in Indore on May 11 and travelled to the Northeast on May 20, reaching Meghalaya via Guwahati. They checked out of a homestay in Nongriat village on May 23 and then disappeared — prompting Raja’s family to raise an alert.

Ten days later, on June 2, Raja’s body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls in Sohra. The case has since unravelled as a premeditated murder allegedly orchestrated by Sonam in connivance with her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and three hired contract killers. Sonam, who initially went missing after the murder, resurfaced in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and surrendered on June 9. Her boyfriend and the three hitmen — Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi — were arrested soon after.

According to investigators, Sonam pushed for the trip to Nongriat — a remote jungle area accessible only by trekking — hoping the murder would be easier to execute there. But the plan was delayed due to heavy tourist presence on May 22 and 23. “They ultimately killed Raja near Weisawdong Falls and dumped his body into a gorge,” said the officer. East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem, who is leading the investigation, said the contract killers arrived in Guwahati on May 21, a day after the couple reached the Northeast.

They bought a machete near their hotel before heading to Shillong by road. “Sonam stayed in touch with Raj throughout the day of the murder, while Raj coordinated with the three killers. She was present at the spot when Raja was killed,” said SP Syiem. After the murder, Sonam fled from Mawkdok to Shillong in a local taxi, then hired a tourist cab to Guwahati, from where she boarded multiple trains to avoid detection. “While she claims to have returned to Indore directly, we are still verifying this route,” the officer added. The Meghalaya Police SIT is now piecing together the full timeline of events and has already gathered CCTV evidence and mobile data to support the investigation. “We are also verifying Sonam’s claim that she had never been to Meghalaya before. The SIT is committed to filing a watertight chargesheet,” an officer said. All five accused — Sonam, Raj Kushwaha, and the three contract killers — have been produced before a court in Shillong and remain in police custody.