Meghalaya honeymoon horror: Sonam Raghuvanshi plotted Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder three days after wedding

Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Sonam Raghuvanshi, who has been accused of plotting and subsequently hiring hitmen to kill her newly-wed husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, had set the plan in motion three days after their wedding. 

Sources told India Today TV that in a chat with her lover, Raj Kushwaha, Sonam said that she did not like her husband getting intimate with her. She told Kushwaha that she had distanced herself from Raja even before their marriage. Sources said that Sonam told Raj in chat about planning to kill her husband three days after their marriage. They chose a far-off location to kill Raja, the sources said.

Separately, a copy of the FIR accessed by India Today revealed key details about the crime and the items missing from the victim at the time of recovery. Raja's gold chain, gold engagement ring, gold wedding ring, gold bracelet and wallet containing cash were all reported missing. The FIR was registered based on the complaint of Raja's brother.

Sonam Raghuvanshi, after evading the police for days, surrendered in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur on Monday. She was subsequently brought before the District Judge's Court in Shillong, where she was sent to a 72-hour transit remand late Monday night.

According to the FIR, Raja and his wife Sonam had arrived in Shillong on May 21, just days after their wedding in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on May 10. The next day, May 22, the couple hired a scooty to travel to Sohra (Cherrapunji). However, contact with the duo was lost that afternoon, triggering concern among their families.

Following several days of search efforts, Raja's body was eventually discovered on June 2 in a deep gorge in a forested area near Cherrapunji. As per the complaint, the body was found in a decomposed state, further indicating the possibility that the murder occurred shortly after their last known movement.

Police suspect that the murder was premeditated and meticulously planned by Sonam and her alleged lover, Raj Kushwaha. Though Raj did not travel with the couple to Meghalaya, officials believe he remained in constant contact with Sonam over the phone.

Sonam's father, Devi Singh, has denied the allegations of a contract killing against his daughter, accusing the Meghalaya Police of fabricating the case. He has demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident.