Raja Raghuvanshi murder: Police to reconstruct crime scene with arrested wife Sonam, aides

NEW DELHI: A special investigation team (SIT) of Meghalaya Police has brought Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of plotting her husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder during their honeymoon, to Sohra (Cherrapunji) for a crime scene reconstruction, police said on Wednesday. Sonam, along with four co-accused – Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kuli – was transported from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to Shillong under transit remand. All five are expected to be produced in a local court soon, where the SIT will seek police custody to complete the investigation. “She was brought here just before midnight and taken to a hospital for a medical examination around 2am,” said East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem.

“A pregnancy test was also conducted as part of the standard procedure. The results were negative.” According to police, the group conspired to kill Raja Raghuvanshi just days after his marriage to Sonam. The couple had gone missing in Sohra on May 23 while on their honeymoon. Raja’s body was found at the bottom of a gorge on June 2. Investigators allege that when an attempt to push Raja off a cliff failed, the assailants used a machete to kill him.

The investigation, dubbed “Operation Honeymoon”, uncovered evidence from several locations in Indore and Ghazipur, where the accused were either based or had travelled after the murder. Police say Sonam coordinated with her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha and his friends to execute the killing, which had been planned weeks in advance. The SIT has been granted a six-day remand for the accused arrested in Indore and a three-day remand for the one picked up from Ghazipur. Police are expected to take all five to Sohra to reconstruct the crime scene in the coming days.