Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Sonam remains silent under police custody; dhaba owner reports hearing her crying during call

LUCKNOW: Hours before her arrest in connection with her husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder, a visibly distressed Sonam Raghuvanshi appeared at a roadside eatery along the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Her arrival at the Kashi Dhaba around 1am marked a crucial turn in the Meghalaya honeymoon murder probe.Sahil Yadav, the dhaba owner, described her as frightened, disoriented, and largely unresponsive.“A girl came up to me and said, ‘Can you give me your phone? I need to talk to my family.’ I gave her my mobile. She called her brother, and as soon as he answered, she broke down and began crying loudly. She told him she was at a roadside dhaba and then the call got disconnected,” Yadav told reporters.According to Sahil Yadav, Sonam was unable or unwilling to speak further. “She wouldn’t speak to anyone. We took her to a charpoy (cot) nearby and some women from our family tried to talk to her, but she just sat silently,” he said.Within minutes, Yadav received a call from Sonam’s brother. “He asked about her condition, and I told him she seemed very scared and wasn’t talking. He requested me to call the police immediately.

I dialed 112 and soon a police team arrived,” he added.When questioned by police, the woman identified herself as Sonam Raghuvanshi. Realising the possible link to the high-profile missing couple case from Indore, police took her into custody around 3am.At the One-Stop Centre in Ghazipur, where she was taken after her pickup, Sonam showed no signs of physical injury but remained withdrawn.“She was visibly exhausted and went to sleep as soon as she arrived.

When the staff offered her breakfast, she refused. She only had some tea and biscuits before falling asleep again,” said Priyanka Prajapati, the in-charge of the shelter home.The police have since recorded statements from Yadav and a woman relative who attempted to comfort Sonam. “She was extremely scared and barely able to speak,” the woman told investigators.Officials believe Sonam may have been fleeing or hiding after orchestrating her husband's killing during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. However, her silence and fragile state upon discovery have added new layers of complexity to the investigation.