Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Planning, execution, and how case was cracked

The twists and turns in what has been dubbed the Meghalaya “honeymoon murder case” are nearly straightened out now.

Even though Sonam Raghuvanshi has claimed that she is a victim and not a suspect, and that she was drugged and kidnapped by the killers of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, all for their jewellery, Meghalaya Police say they have very good reason not to believe her.

Here is how the sensational case has unfolded so far and what the police have reportedly shared with the media, though not always officially.

Where it all started

The key conspirators in Raja Raghuvanshi’s (27) murder are believed to be his wife Sonam (24) and her alleged boyfriend Raj Kushwaha (21) who is also an employee in their Sunmica company.

Kushwaha reportedly lived close to Sonam’s house in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and worked as an accountant in their firm. Though he shifted homes a year ago, he continued to work for the business.

Police believe Sonam’s family knew about their relationship but were against it. They fixed her marriage with Raja instead, through a community network.

Also read: Meghalaya murder: Demonised, called ‘killers’, ‘traffickers’, residents seek apology

The planning

The wedding took place on May 11. Four days after that, on May 15, Sonam left for her parental home for a post-wedding ritual.

It was during that visit that she allegedly plotted Raja’s murder with Kushwaha. The plan was simple — take Raja to Meghalaya on the pretext of honeymoon, carry all the jewellery along so that it would seem like a robbery gone wrong (plus they could enjoy the proceeds later), and get Raja killed in a remote region of the hill state.

The next day, on May 16, Kushwaha allegedly called his childhood friends, Anand Kurmi (23), Akash Rajput (19), and Vishal Singh Chauhan (22) — all of whom are now in custody — to a cafe in Indore to plan the murder in exchange for money.

According to a report, Sonam had offered them Rs 4 lakh for the job, which she later raised to Rs 20 lakh, when the alleged killers refused to carry out the job on the spot.

One-way tickets

Overnight, Sonam booked one-way tickets to Guwahati.

Raja’s mother Uma Raghuvanshi has told the media that the plan for a trip was sudden and made by Sonam.

“Suddenly one day [May 19], Raja told me Sonam had booked tickets for Kamakhya Devi temple. He said they were leaving the next day [May 20]. We didn’t suspect anything. Raja and Sonam shopped for warm clothes and rainwear. Everything seemed normal,” Uma has been quoted as saying.

However, Sonam made Raja put on an expensive watch and a gold ring and chain, while she herself wore a diamond ring, a bracelet, and a mangalsutra, Uma has revealed.

Also read: Meghalaya murder: Sonam claims she was drugged, kidnapped; police reject her claims

Murder weapon bought

The three alleged killers reportedly left on the same day. Kushwaha himself remained in Indore so as not to arouse suspicion, while Akash, Vishal and Anand travelled first to Assam and then Meghalaya, tailing the couple, police have alleged.

In Guwahati, the trio allegedly bought a machete. While some reports say they bought it online, some say they bought it from a shop.

Anyhow, sleuths believe the trio started tailing the couple after they visited Kamakhya temple in Guwahati. In fact, the sudden pilgrimage to the temple—allegedly planned by Sonam—was possibly a tactic to help the trio zero in on the couple’s movements, they believe.

Live locations shared

Anyhow, from Guwahati, the couple, as well as the alleged killers, went to Shillong, where the latter put up in a hotel close to Sonam and Raja’s homestay.

East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem has alleged that Sonam sent her live location to Kushwaha throughout the trip.

For three days, the couple visited the tourist attractions of the hill state—so as not to invite any suspicion later. A police officer in Indore has been quoted as saying that Sonam in fact convinced Raja to extend their stay in Shillong.

Meanwhile, the alleged killers looked for a suitable spot to carry out the murder, the police believe. They found the perfect spot near Wei Sawdong Falls. The place is isolated as well as quiet, reportedly because of an ongoing feud among three villages over its ownership.

Also read: Sonam Raghuvanshi's aide took people to her husband's funeral in Indore

The witness

On May 23 morning, Sonam set out from Mawlakhiat with Raja, and they were met somewhere on the way by the three alleged killers.

Everything would have perhaps gone well for the killers, but for a local tourist guide, Albert Pde, who noticed the couple with the three men climbing the steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am.

Pde recognised the couple as he had taken them to the famed living roots bridge in Nongriat the previous day. However, this time, Sonam reportedly refused and said they knew the trail.

Pde also noticed that the three men accompanying the couple were speaking in Hindi, indicating that they were not locals, and also that Sonam was walking slightly behind them.

Killers befriended Raja

From what the police have reportedly pieced together, the three accused befriended Raja by speaking in Hindi — possibly the only language he was proficient in — in Bengaluru itself, from where they had a connecting flight to Guwahati. (However, some reports say the killers went by train.)

Local witnesses have been quoted as saying that Raja could not speak English very well and it was Sonam who communicated with the locals in English as many of them do not converse in Hindi. Also, the men likely said they were also from Indore.

Though Pde was the last person to see Raja alive, the scooter Raja and Sonam had hired in Shillong was found in Sohrarim, from where Wei Sawdong Falls are about 17 km away. It was the headman of Sohrarim who reported to the police the next day, May 24, that they found an abandoned scooty in their village.

Also, on June 4, two days after Raja’s semi-decomposed body was discovered in a gorge below Wei Sawdong Falls, Meghalaya Police found a raincoat with stains in Mawkma village, halfway between Sohrarim and the gorge.

Also read: Meghalaya honeymoon horror: Accused wife produced in Ghazipur court

How Raja was allegedly killed

Hence, it appears that the couple, along with the killer trio, made their way to the falls from Sohrarim. And the murder took place at a desolate spot near the falls.

Raja’s autopsy report says he was hit twice with a sharp object on his head. “The autopsy report indicated there were two sharp cuts on the head of the deceased — one from behind and one from the front,” East Khasi Hills district SP Vivek Syiem has told PTI, quoting the report.

The weapon was allegedly the machete (dao) the alleged killers bought from Guwahati, which was discovered by the police on June 3, a day after they found Raja’s body, close to the same spot. It was bloodstained.

A bloodstained white shirt was also found at the spot, one that Sonam was believed to be seen wearing in a CCTV footage, while her black raincoat was found 6 km away.

It is suspected that the alleged murderers hit Raja on the head and threw his body 400 metres into the gorge after killing him. Top police sources have reportedly told the media that Sonam helped them push Raja’s body into the gorge.

Some crucial mistakes

The dao was likely chosen to make it seem like the killers were locals. However, this is where the killers made a mistake. When the Meghalaya Police found the machete, they immediately suspected it was not a local job because the machete itself is not one used in the region.

“This type of machete is not commonly used in the region, which made us suspect the involvement of someone from outside the area. We then decided to investigate the couple’s call records,” a police officer involved in the case told the media.

Also, Sonam’s call records showed that only days before the murder, she had been in touch with someone whose last known location was near the very spot where she went “missing”. The person later turned out to be one of the three alleged killers.

The blood-soaked white shirt has reportedly turned out to be Akash’s. Sonam’s raincoat was allegedly dumped 6 km away deliberately, to mislead the sleuths.

Another thing that reportedly made the police suspicious was the fact that the couple did not take or share any photos of themselves in Meghalaya.

Also read: Meghalaya honeymoon murder: What we know so far and some unanswered questions

The victim card

After the crime, Sonam reportedly left Meghalaya for Indore on May 23 itself, via Guwahati. In Indore, she allegedly met Kushwaha and put up in a rented accommodation for a day, before being driven in a hired cab to Uttar Pradesh.

Once the Meghalaya Police became sure of Sonam’s involvement, they started looking for her escape routes and the three other men based on Pde’s statement. Sonam was reportedly spotted with them, 10 km from the site of Raja’s murder.

Even as Sonam later “surrendered” before UP Police in Ghazipur and claimed to have been drugged and kidnapped, while her father maintains that she is innocent and is being framed, the Meghalaya Police are in no mood to buy her story.

Police not buying story

“All the dots connected to indicate that there was prior planning,” East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem has said. “We will confirm everything once the accused are interrogated together,” he has told the media.

UP Police’s ADG (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash has also seconded that. “Sonam presented herself as a victim before the police, claiming she was drugged and brought to Ghazipur... But she lacked knowledge of police procedures,” he told a media house.

“The Meghalaya police have done excellent work and are currently handling the case. If they seek assistance, we will provide it,” he reportedly added.