Raja Raghuvanshi, a resident of Indore, who was killed while celebrating a honeymoon in Meghalaya, was told by his wife Sonam that she would take marriage only after offering offerings at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati. Investigators made this big disclosure on Wednesday.
He said that accordingly, the king planned to travel to Guwahati and nearby Meghalaya for honeymoon, while his wife and her lover allegedly conspired to assassinate her in the northeastern state forests, as this kingdom is far away.
A police officer associated with the investigation told PTI, “Sonam persuaded her husband Raja to make offerings to the Kamakhya Devi temple before marriage.”
Sonam and Raja were married on May 11 in Indore and reached Meghalaya on May 20 via Guwahati, Assam. Both of them went missing only a few hours after checked out of a homestay in Nongriyat village in Sohra in East Khasi Hills district on 23 May.
The king’s body was found in a valley near Weisadong Falls on 2 June. The search for Sonam continued, which surfaced in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, about 1,200 km on the morning of 9 June and surrendered, as the police arrested three killers taken on her lover Raj Kushwaha and Raja for killing the king.
The official said, “Sonam forced her husband to be taken to the dense forests of Nongriyat, as she was confident that the killers appointed by her would have a better chance to kill her somewhere on the way, as she is a secluded place. But, since a lot of tourists came in Nongriyat for tracking on 22 and 23 May, they could not kill him there.”
He said, “He finally killed him to Weisadong Falls and threw his body into a deep ditch.”
Superintendent of Police of Eastern Khasi Hills Vivek Sayam, who is monitoring the investigation, told PTI that the killer couple reached Guwahati on 21 May a day after the Northeast arrived. He said that the killers bought a knife from outside his hotel in Guwahati and then reached Shillong by road.
He said, “We have collected CCTV evidence, causing this investigation to be very intensive. Sonam was in contact with her lover Raj on the day of the murder, while Raj had coordinated with the three killers.
“Sonam was present there at the time of Raja’s murder. She ran away after the crime.
He said, “She took a taxi from Mockdock to Shillong and then hired a tourist taxi from Guwahati before climbing several trains to avoid being caught. Although she claimed that she had reached Indore directly, but it is still being confirmed.”
Another official said that the Special Investigation Team of Meghalaya Police (SIT) is working at various places to connect the links of the entire incident.
He said, “We are also confirming Sonam’s claim that she had never gone to Meghalaya before. SIT is committed to filing a strong charge sheet.”
Sonam, her lover Raj and three suspected killers – Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi were produced in a court in Shillong.
