Shillong: In a sensational twist to the murder of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, Meghalaya police have unveiled a chilling plot where the culprits intended to murder an unknown woman and burn her body. The gruesome act was designed to mimic the death of Raja’s wife, Sonam, allowing her to remain in hiding for an extended period before the truth unravelled.
The ongoing interrogation of Sonam, her suspected boyfriend Raj Kushwaha, and three other accomplices has brought to light the intricate details of the conspiracy. Police have identified Raj Kushwaha as the mastermind behind the cold-blooded murder, with Sonam allegedly acting as a co-conspirator. It was also revealed that Sonam fled Meghalaya disguised in a burqa, traversing through various modes of transport including taxis, buses, and trains to reach Madhya Pradesh.
East Khasi Hills district Superintendent of Police, Vivek Syiem, revealed that the sinister plot to eliminate Raja was hatched in Indore, just before his wedding to Sonam on May 11. Raja, 29, and Sonam, 24, had travelled to picturesque Sohra in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district shortly after their wedding, only to go missing on May 23. Raja’s body was later discovered in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2.
While a frantic search for Sonam was underway, she resurfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, approximately 1,200 km away, in the early hours of June 9 and subsequently surrendered to the authorities. Alongside Sonam, police have also arrested Raj Kushwaha and three others identified as Vishal, Akash, and Anand. Initially suspected to be contract killers, Syiem clarified that these three young individuals were friends, with one being Raj’s cousin, and had committed the act as a “favour” to their friend. Raj had provided them with Rs 50,000 for their expenditures.
The planning for Raja’s murder began in February in Indore, with the conspirators brainstorming various methods for Sonam’s disappearance after the killing. One initial idea involved faking her being washed away by a river, while another even more disturbing plan proposed murdering a random woman, placing her on a two-wheeler, burning the body, and then claiming it to be Sonam’s. Fortunately, neither of these horrific plans came to fruition.
The group had arrived in Assam a few days before the newly-wed couple on May 19, initially planning to carry out the murder in Guwahati. When that plan failed, Sonam orchestrated a meeting in Nongriat after moving to Shillong and Sohra. Syiem detailed that the group proceeded towards Weisawdong Falls where, between 2 pm and 2:18 pm, all three men attacked Raja with a machete purchased in Assam, killing him in front of Sonam before throwing his body into a gorge.
Sonam then handed her blood-stained raincoat to Akash, whose shirt also had blood spots. They fled Weisawdong on scooters, with Akash later disposing of the raincoat. The two-wheeler hired by Sonam and Raja was also abandoned. These critical pieces of evidence, including the raincoat and the abandoned two-wheeler, were later recovered by the police when Sonam was still believed to be missing.
Raj had provided Sonam with a burqa, which she wore to Police Bazaar in Shillong before taking a taxi to Guwahati. From Guwahati, she travelled to Siliguri by bus, then took buses to Patna and Arah, before boarding a train to Lucknow. From Lucknow, Sonam took a bus to finally reach Indore.
In the interim, when Meghalaya media interviewed a tour guide who claimed to have seen Sonam and Raja with three other individuals, Raj panicked and instructed Sonam to leave Indore and emerge in Siliguri, claiming to be a victim of abduction. However, on June 8, as Sonam was leaving Indore, two Meghalaya police teams, in plainclothes, had already reached Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
“When the first arrest (Akash) was made in UP, Raj panicked and told Sonam wherever she is, call up her family and tell them she just escaped from an abduction gang. That’s how this whole thing came to light in Ghazipur,” Syiem explained. The conspirators had initially believed that Raja’s body would remain undiscovered due to the remote location, giving them one to two months for the police inquiry, allowing Sonam to play the victim.
The police are currently recording and cross-referencing the statements of the five accused, who have been kept separately. Syiem expressed confidence in gathering sufficient evidence to reconstruct the crime scene and file a charge sheet within the mandatory 90 days. All five individuals were remanded to eight days of police custody on Wednesday.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, DNR Marak, stated that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is seeking assistance from the police in Assam and other states to connect all pieces of evidence. The police are also verifying whether any of the accused had conducted a reconnaissance of Sohra and the jungles of Nongriat prior to the murder.
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