'Police lapses helped Sonam get bail': After SC setback, Raja Raghuvanshi's family seeks CBI probe

INDORE: More than a year after Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered during his honeymoon in Meghalaya, his family on Friday renewed its demand for a CBI probe.The Raghuvanshi family has alleged that lapses by the Meghalaya police enabled the prime accused, his widow, Sonam Raghuvanshi, to secure bail, news agency PTI reported.The demand was raised by Raja’s elder brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, after the Supreme Court refused to stay a Meghalaya high court order that upheld the bail granted to the victim’s widow.Questioning what he called the government’s double standards in high-profile cases, Vipin said, “An order for a CBI investigation is immediately issued upon the death of a child of an influential person.”He added that despite more than a year having passed since Raja’s murder, no CBI probe has been ordered.Vipin alleged that had the investigation been handed over to the CBI at the outset, Sonam would not have been able to take advantage of legal lapses by the Meghalaya police during court proceedings.On June 29, the Meghalaya high court dismissed the state government’s plea seeking cancellation of Sonam’s bail, which had been granted by a lower court on April 27.

The high court cited serious procedural lapses by the Meghalaya police, particularly in informing Sonam of the grounds for her arrest, and upheld the bail order.In its ruling, the court said the manner in which the grounds of arrest were prepared reflected a “total non-application of judicious mind”.The Meghalaya government has challenged the high court’s order in the Supreme Court.Vipin reiterated the family’s concern that Sonam could tamper with evidence or influence witnesses if she remains on bail for an extended period.

“My family has full faith in the judiciary. We are hopeful of getting justice,” he said.Sonam was arrested on June 9 last year from Ghazipur in UP on charges of conspiring to murder her husband.She remained in judicial custody at the Shillong District Jail for over 10 months before being released on bail.Raja’s family runs a transport business in Indore.Raja and Sonam had gone missing in Meghalaya during their honeymoon in 2025, and his body was later recovered from a deep gorge near a waterfall in the Sohra (Cherrapunji) area of East Khasi Hills district.(With agency inputs)