Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Timeline of Sonam's 22 hours before she's taken to Shillong
Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of orchestrating the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, has been placed in 72-hour transit remand after her arrest in Uttar Pradesh on June 9.
It was a phone call from a dhaba worker's phone in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur at 1.30 am on June 9 that alerted the police and they swooped down to arrest Sonam Raghuvanshi, the main accused in the sensational murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi while the couple were on their honeymoon in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.
The newly-wed couple arrived in Shillong on May 20, just nine days after their wedding in Indore on May 11. The couple went missing on May 23, just hours after checking out of a homestay in Nongriat village near Sohra (Cherrapunji).
While the husband was later found dead on June 2, approximately 20 km from the village, his wife remained untraceable, prompting a multi-state search effort. His body was discovered near the scenic Weisawdong Falls in the East Khasi Hills district.
How a phone call from a dhaba led to Sonam's arrest
Missing since her husband's disappearance and his subsequent retrieval of his body, Sonam was spotted at the Kashi Dhaba on the Ghaipur-Varanasi highway in UP, thousands of kilometers away from where she was last seen.
At the dhaba, Sonam asked a staffer for a mobile phone and made a call to her family. Acting on the family's advice, the dhaba staff contacted the local police. The Ghazipur Police arrived at the location around 2 am.
From Meghalaya to Ghazipur: A timeline of events
When questioned about how she had reached Ghazipur, Sonam repeatedly said she was unwell and avoided giving direct answers. At approximately 2:15 am, police took Sonam to the medical college for a check-up. After the medical examination, she was taken to a One Stop Centre at 5 am for shelter and further care.
By 6:10 pm, police officials from Meghalaya arrived at the One Stop Centre to meet Sonam. At 7 pm, they took her for another medical examination. At 8:30 pm, the Meghalaya Police took Sonam to the district court to obtain her transit remand. By 11 pm, the court granted Meghalaya police a 72-hour remand.
At 11:30 pm, Sonam was taken from the court into Meghalaya police custody. She was first taken by road to Patna. From Patna, she is scheduled to be flown back to Meghalaya this afternoon.
Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Murder driven by extramarital affair
The Meghalaya Police allege that Sonam orchestrated her husband's murder, hiring professional killers to execute the plan. According to investigators, she was romantically involved with a man named Raj Kushwaha, who allegedly co-conspired in the murder and was seen at her husband Raja's funeral in Indore.
In connection with the crime, Raj Kushwaha and Vishal Chauhan were arrested in Indore, while Akash Rajput was nabbed nearby. Anand Kurmi was located in Basari village in Bina, and Akash Lodhi was apprehended in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh—all between Saturday and Sunday.
What led to the suspicion on Sonam was an eyewitness' account that the couple were last seen with three other men on May 23, climbing up a long trek from the living root bridge in Meghalaya.
Also read: Main accused Sonam sent to 72-hour transit remand | What we know so far