Meghalaya Honeymoon Killing Takes Dark Turn, Police to Recreate Crime Scene
In a shocking case that has captured national attention, Meghalaya Police are now preparing to recreate the murder scene of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, who was allegedly killed during his honeymoon by a group hired by his own wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi. Police say that Sonam had planned the murder well in advance and had promised ₹20 lakh to the killers. On the day of the murder, she reportedly gave ₹15,000 in cash—believed to be taken from her husband’s wallet—as an advance payment to the attackers. The incident took place near a waterfall in Sohra, East Khasi Hills, where Raja’s body was later found in a gorge on June 2. According to the police report, he was killed using a sharp local weapon called a dao, and his belongings were taken after the murder.
Sonam, who was on the run for several days after the crime, surrendered to the police on June 8 while traveling on the Varanasi-Ghazipur Highway in Uttar Pradesh. After her arrest, she was brought to Shillong under tight security and taken to a local hospital for a medical check-up before being placed in police custody. She did not speak much during the long journey from Ghazipur to Shillong, which involved flights through Patna, Kolkata, and Guwahati, followed by a road trip. Police have now taken a three-day transit remand to question her further.
Investigators have also found that the murder was not a sudden act but was planned even before Sonam’s wedding in May. Police believe that Sonam and her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha had been plotting the murder for some time. Although Kushwaha did not go to Meghalaya, he is said to have guided the entire operation over phone calls. The killers followed the newlywed couple from Guwahati to Shillong and stayed close to their hotel to track their movements.
After committing the crime, Sonam boarded a train from Guwahati to Indore on May 24, the very next day. There, she stayed in a flat that was reportedly arranged by Kushwaha. The next day, she was shifted to a hideout in Uttar Pradesh, where she remained hidden for more than two weeks. Meanwhile, police also searched the home of one of the other accused, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and recovered the clothes he is believed to have worn on the day of the murder. With all accused now in custody, police plan to take them back to the murder site in Sohra to reconstruct the sequence of events and gather more evidence as the investigation continues.
