Honeymoon homicide: Meghalaya court sends Sonam, four others to 8-day police custody

Shillong

A court in Shillong on Wednesday sent   Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of killing her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, and her four aides to eight-day police custody, an official said.

Sonam was brought here on Tuesday midnight, while the other accused reached on Wednesday on transit remand, a senior officer said. Police had sought a 10-day remand of all the accused.

The court granted 8 days of police custody," East Khasi Hills district SP Vivek Syiem said. The 24-year-old woman was arrested from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, while her aides were apprehended from Indore in Madhya Pradesh for their alleged role in conspiring and killing Raja Raghuvanshi. The special investigation team sought police custody of the accused to reconstruct the crime scene in Sohra, the officer said.

Prime accused Sonam came to Indore after husband's murder and stayed in flat' The SIT has secured a six-day remand for the accused persons from Indore and that of three days for one arrested from Ghazipur, he added.Raghuvanshi and his wife went missing while vacationing in Meghalaya's Sohra area on May 23. His body was found in a gorge on June 2.

Meanwhile Sonam Raghuvanshi has confessed to orchestrating the murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, police sources say. According to investigators, the crime was carried out by Sonam in collusion with her lover, Raj Kushwah, and two accomplices, who have all now admitted their roles.

After the killing on 23 May, Sonam returned to Indore and met her alleged lover in a rented flat before fleeing to eastern Uttar Pradesh. She was found at a dhaba in Ghazipur, around 2,000 km from Meghalaya, in a dishevelled and uncommunicative state.

Jail authorities say she claimed memory loss and showed no grief when questioned. The Meghalaya police have taken custody of Sonam and the trio, and are conducting Operation ‘Honeymoon’ to unravel the full conspiracy behind the assassination near Sohra’s waterfalls.