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

After a fortnight of suspense over the fate of the honeymooning couple in Meghalaya, an utterly shocking climax unfolded on Monday (June 9) morning, with the “missing” wife being arrested in Uttar Pradesh for the alleged murder of her newly-wedded husband.

However, even as Meghalaya heaves a sigh of relief over the apparent non-involvement of any local in the tourist’s murder, the case still remains shrouded in mystery, with burning questions in the minds of all those who followed it meticulously about several things, including, most of all, the motive.

What we know so far

Meghalaya DGP I Nongrang told the press on Monday that Raja Raghuvanshi, from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, was allegedly killed by four contract killers hired by his wife, Sonam, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya.

She told news agency PTI that Sonam (24) surrendered at the Nandganj Police Station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur on Monday, while three other assailants were arrested in overnight raids by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Of the three, two are from Indore and one from Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Later, East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem was quoted as saying that one more man was arrested from Madhya Pradesh’s Sadar district on Monday. According to Nongrang, the arrested men have admitted that Sonam had hired them to kill Raghuvanshi.

Also read: New CCTV footage deepens mystery surrounding Indore couple's fate in Meghalaya

The five arrests

The East Khasi Hills SP told PTI Videos, “The first person arrested was Akash Rajput, 19, from Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh. The second was Vishal Singh Chauhan, 22, from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The third was Raj Singh Kushwaha, 21, also from Indore.”

Syiem also said that Sonam is currently in police custody. “This afternoon, we arrested Anand Kurmi, 23, from Sadar district, Madhya Pradesh,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh ADG, Law and Order, Amitabh Yash, said in a statement, “Sonam Raghuvanshi…was found in the night, at Kashi Dhaba situated on the Varanasi Ghazipur main road. She was sent to Sadar Hospital for initial treatment and then kept in One Stop Centre...” A one-stop centre provides assistance to women in distress, both in private and public places.

Later in the day, Meghalaya Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong also confirmed that the “final arrest took place on Monday”.

How Sonam was found

According to news agency ANI, Sonam turned up—alone—at Kashi Dhaba, roadside eatery, in Gazipur around 1 am on Monday.

Sahil Yadav, owner of Kashi Dhaba, reportedly told ANI that Sonam looked distressed and asked the customers for help. “Then she walked to me and asked for my phone to call her family. I gave her my mobile. She started crying while talking to her family. I spoke to the family and informed them about her location,” Yadav told ANI.

According to Yadav, the call got disconnected. Since Sonam looked “mentally unwell” and she was crying, he offered her water, he said. “After a while, Sonam’s brother called me and asked me to inform the local police about Sonam’s whereabouts. Around 2–2.30 am, police took away Sonam,” he told ANI.

DGP Nongrang confirmed to the media that “Sonam surrendered at the Nandganj police station in UP, and was subsequently arrested”.

Also read: Kin of Indore woman who went missing in Meghalaya seek CBI probe

Red flags?

According to media reports, Sonam and Raja wore all their gold and diamond jewellery to their honeymoon in Meghalaya, which Raja’s mother Uma Raghuvansi has revealed.

Sonam reportedly left for the airport straight from her parents’ house, while Raja left his house wearing all his wedding jewellery, including a diamond ring, a chain, and a bracelet — together worth more than Rs 10 lakh.

Uma had reportedly asked him about it, to be told that Sonam had wanted him to wear all his jewellery.

Interestingly, it was Sonam who had made all the bookings for their Meghalaya trip, including travel and stay. But she did not book a return ticket, Uma has been quoted by media reports as saying.

Apparently, the idea of visiting Shillong for their honeymoon was also Sonam’s. “Raja learnt about the trip later,” Uma told the media.

Raja’s brother, Sachin, told NDTV that Sonam being found alive itself raises a lot of questions. “We want to know why Raja was murdered…. Who were the other people who killed Raja?” he told NDTV.

According to Sachin, everything had seemed normal during the couple’s wedding. They all went shopping together and no one suspected anything amiss.

What was the murder motive?

Meghalaya police believe Sonam was in an extra-marital affair with Kushwaha, one of the men to be arrested. They believe Sonam planned the murder in connivance with Kushwaha.

Though not much is known yet about Kushwaha, Raja’s brother Vipul has been quoted by ANI as saying that Kushwaha was Sonam’s employee and that they would speak over the phone for hours.

SP Syiem told the media that it “appears” Sonam had a boyfriend and that she had surrendered under pressure, only after Kushwaha and the others got arrested.

“It is a fact that she called up her relatives, but all this happened after the raids were conducted. If you look at it logically, all these days she hadn’t come out, but last night, when Raj Kushwaha and others were caught, suddenly she surfaced. That speaks for itself,” he told the media.

Also read: Those behind Indore tourist's murder will be brought to book: Meghalaya CM Sangma

Some vital clues for police

One of the major clues for the police came from a tourist guide in Mawlakhiat, Albert Pde, who said he had seen Raja and Sonam with three men on the day they went missing.

Pde said he had seen the couple, accompanied by three men, as they were climbing over 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am on May 23 — the day the couple vanished.

Pde said he recognised the couple as he had offered his services to them on the previous day to see the famed living roots bridge in Nongriat, but they had politely refused and hired another guide.

He also said that all three men accompanying the couple were speaking in Hindi, indicating that they were not locals.

The bloodstained machete (dao) that was found near Raja’s body might also have been a clue. It was brand new, indicating a planned murder.

A brief timeline of events

May 11: Raja and Sonam get married in Indore.

May 20: The couple leave for their honeymoon in Meghalaya.

May 21, 6 pm: The couple checks into Balaji Guest House in Shillong.

May 22, morning: They rent a scooty from Keating Road, return to Balaji Guest House, and check out telling the manager they would return by May 25. They say they would call if they need a room. They ride to Sohra (Cherrapunji), carrying two pieces of luggage.

May 22, evening: They arrive in Mawlakhiat, East Khasi Hills, park the scooty in a tourist parking lot run by locals. They hire a guide to trek to Shipara Homestay at Nongriat village.

May 23, morning: They check out from Shipara Homestay and return to Mawlakhiat without the guide. Later that day, they set out from Mawlakhiat and go missing.

May 24: The headman of Sohrarim reports to the police that they found an abandoned scooty in their village.

May 25: Police trace scooty owner, who confirms that Raja Raghuvanshi, 27, and Sonam, 25, from Indore had rented the vehicle.

May 26: Search begins in Sohrarim.

June 2: Police drone spots a semi-decomposed body in a gorge below Wei Sawdong Falls. It is retrieved and identified as that of Raja by his family. It is realised that his gold ring and neck chain are missing.

June 3: Bloodstained machete (dao) found nearby.

June 4: Meghalaya Police find a raincoat with stains in Mawkma village, halfway between Sohrarim and the gorge where Raja’s body was found. Raincoat resembles one Sonam was seen wearing.

Also read: Indore couple missing case: Husband's body recovered from gorge

Unanswered questions

There are still many vexing questions in the case. Some of the major ones are:

1. What was the murder motive?

2. How did Raja’s body end up in the gorge? Where was he murdered?

3. How did Sonam reach Gazipur undetected?

Sonam’s family in denial

While both Raja’s and Sonam’s families had sought a CBI investigation, Sonam’s family is still seeking one, maintaining that she is innocent. “My daughter is 100 per cent innocent. We demand a CBI probe into the case,” Sonam’s father Devi Singh Raghuvanshi told reporters.

“The Meghalaya police are giving false statements about my daughter because the state government’s image is getting tarnished due to Raja’s murder,” he alleged.

He further claimed the Meghalaya police have no evidence against his daughter that she gave a contract to get her husband killed.

Raja’s brother Vipin also said that until the alleged contract killers are confronted with Sonam, “we cannot believe that she had hired them to kill her husband”.

Devi Singh, who runs a business of Sunmica sheets used in furniture, also said Kushwaha was working at his warehouse till Saturday.

“Kushwaha’s name is being wrongly linked with my daughter Sonam. The Meghalaya Police are making false allegations against my daughter to save their skin. I will send a legal notice to the Meghalaya Police. I want the CBI to investigate the entire matter,” he said.

Devi Singh had earlier claimed Sonam had been abducted and Meghalaya Police were not investigating the matter properly. “They have been negligent right from the beginning. I have been seeking the deployment of the Army since the day they went missing. If it was done in time, they would have been found safely,” he had told PTI.

What of Sonam?

A statement issued by the Meghalaya Police said Sonam is currently in the custody of the Uttar Pradesh Police, and necessary legal protocols are being followed for her transit.

“The arrests mark a decisive development in unravelling the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Raja Raghuvanshi and the subsequent disappearance of his wife,” it said.

The outcome of the investigation is the “result of round-the-clock efforts by the Meghalaya Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), supported by State Disaster Response Force and National Disaster Response Force, local intelligence units and law enforcement agencies across multiple states”, the statement said.

The SIT, headed by an SP and assisted by four DSPs, was probing the matter.

(With agency inputs)