Raja Raghuvanshi murder: Police custody for slain Indore man’s wife extended

Meghalaya Special Investigation Team (SIT) brings the accused in Raja Raghuvanshi murder case for the recreation of the crime at Wei Sawdong Falls, Cherrapunji, in East Khasi Hills on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: ANI

A Meghalaya court has remanded Sonam Raghuvanshi and her alleged lover Raj Singh Kushwaha to two more days of police custody.

The two are accused of murdering Sonam’s husband, businessman Raja Raghuvanshi of Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, near a cascade in Meghalaya’s Sohra on May 23.

The Sessions Court in Shillong also sent three other accused in the murder case – Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi – to 14 days of judicial custody.

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All five were produced before the court on Thursday (June 19, 2025) evening after the expiry of eight days of police custody.

On Tuesday, the State police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) completed the reconstruction of the crime scene, which led to the recovery of a second machete suspected to have been used in the murder. The machete was found near the Weisawdong Falls.

The SIT scouted many spots from the parking lot at Mawlakhiat, where the accused parked their rented two-wheelers, to the Weisawdong parking lot, about 25 km away, where the crime was committed. The police said the accused hacked Raja to death at the parking lot near the Weisawdong Falls and dumped his body in the adjacent gorge.

On June 18, a Meghalaya Police team visited Sonam’s maternal residence in Indore, interrogating the members of her family for at least two hours. The team also visited her brother, Govind’s office and the family-owned plywood factory as part of the probe.

The investigation expanded to multiple locations, including Varanasi, where Sonam reportedly travelled under suspicious circumstances. The police also took the statement of Ghazipur resident Ujala Yadav, who claimed to have seen Sonam at the Varanasi bus terminal accompanied by two unidentified men.

Raja and Sonam were married on May 11. His decomposed body was found on June 2.

Published - June 19, 2025 10:06 pm IST