Following 16 days of search and numerous unanswered queries, the case of the missing Indore couple in Shillong has concluded dramatically, as the wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, turned herself in to the Uttar Pradesh Police in Ghazipur early Monday morning.
The Meghalaya Police reported that the woman, who had been ‘missing’ since May 23 in Shillong, turned herself in a week after her husband’s remains were discovered deep in a gorge in the Cherrapunji region.
The autopsy report indicated that although the victim exhibited several sharp injuries on the body, two significant wounds were notable – one at the front of the head and another at the rear.
What primary investigation revealed?
According to the police, 24-year-old Sonam Raghuvanshi was found at a dhaba on the main road between Varanasi and Ghazipur and was apprehended. The initial investigation revealed it as a suspected case of contract murder, since the woman was involved in an affair with a man who is also one of the arrested individuals.
ALSO READ: Honeymoon Murder: Wife had affair; hired contract killers to kill husband
The dhaba owner, at which the UP Police discovered Sonam, stated she seemed mentally unstable and disclosed that her brother had requested him to notify the police. He stated that Sonam was at the restaurant for roughly two hours and mentioned that her husband had been murdered during a robbery in Meghalaya.
On May 23 at 10 am, Raja and his wife Sonam, celebrating the third day of their honeymoon, were seen in Mawlakhiat, Meghalaya. That marked the final occasion Raja was observed alive.
Albert Pde, a local who had assisted them during a three-hour trek to Nongriat the previous day to see the ‘living roots’ bridge, spotted them. He informed the local police that he observed Raja and Sonam along with three other men, none of whom he thought were locals, as they all spoke Hindi.
The identities of these men remain uncertain for now, but three male suspects – Vicky, Akash, and Anand – have been detained regarding Raja’s murder. Authorities suspect these individuals were the assassins.
ALSO READ: Tragic! Five die, Several injured falling off moving local train in Mumbai
The authorities suspect that Sonam contracted the three to kill Raja Raghuvanshi.
Sonam allegedly murdered her husband (married for less than a week) to maintain an ongoing relationship with her partner – Raj Kushwaha – who has also been taken into custody.
Sonam’s father rejected the claims
Sonam’s father has dismissed the charges of contract killing against his daughter, claiming that the Meghalaya Police is contriving the case. He has requested a CBI investigation into the incident.
He further stated that his daughter informed him she was taken from Meghalaya and that there was an effort to steal from her. He claims that she stated she cannot recall how she arrived in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Raghuvanshi and his spouse disappeared while on holiday in the Sohra region of Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district on May 23. On June 2, his body was discovered in a ravine as a thorough search for his wife continued.
The Meghalaya Police had formed a Special Investigation Team, and according to top official Vivek Syiem, the motive was Sonam’s affair with Kushwaha. The accused had been underground until Sunday and surfaced only after the operation was intensified.
