Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Social media post from Raja Raghuvanshi's account confirmed cops' suspicions

GUWAHATI/SHILLONG: A honeymoon without a single photo. That was the first clue.Meghalaya Police SIT began suspecting foul play when they noticed newlyweds Raja & Sonam Raghuvanshi hadn't posted any pictures from their scenic trip to the northeast.

That silence online opened the lid on what turned out to be a planned murder - a case codenamed unofficially by police as Operation Honeymoon.Raja Raghuvanshi, 28, a transporter from Indore, was found dead on June 2 in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills. He had disappeared on May 23 along with 24-year-old Sonam, who reappeared at a roadside dhaba in UP's Ghazipur in the early hours of June 9. She was arrested, brought to Shillong Tuesday, and will be produced before a court on Wednesday.T

he couple had married on May 11 and left days later for Guwahati, telling family they planned to visit the Kamakhya temple. On May 20, they reached Meghalaya. Three days later, both vanished. A rented scooter, abandoned near Shillong-Cherrapunji route, was found on May 24. It would take a nine-day search to locate Raja's body. A "dao" (machete) and phone lay nearby, with a blood-stained raincoat found a few km away.As SIT sifted through 42 surveillance videos and behaviour profiles, suspicions deepened. Footage placed Sonam meeting the alleged killers just 10km from the crime scene. The clincher came when a social media post appeared on Raja's account at 2.15am - hours after his death. Police said it was a red herring, likely posted by someone else to throw investigators off track.The conspiracy began well before the trip. Sonam, who returned to her parental home on May 15, allegedly resumed contact with her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha.

Next day, Raj allegedly met three childhood friends - Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi - at a restaurant in Indore. The murder plan was allegedly sealed that evening.Raj stayed behind in Indore. The three boarded a train to Guwahati via Delhi and arrived in Shillong on May 21, police said. For the next two days, they allegedly tailed the couple with help from Sonam, who kept sending live locations. She is accused of luring Raja to secluded spots for photos, giving her co-conspirators the window they needed.Sonam's raincoat, handed to Akash, was found at crime scene.