In a chilling case of betrayal and premeditated murder, Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi was allegedly murdered at the hands of his wife, Sonam, who, shockingly, hatched the entire conspiracy along with her lover just five days after her marriage. Going to Meghalaya on May 20 for a honeymoon and visiting remote hilly areas was all part of the conspiracy hatched by her in connivance with Raj Kushwaha, with whom Sonam was in an extramarital affair, sources said.
Raja and Sonam got married on May 11. While everything appeared normal and festive within the family, behind the scenes, a sinister plan was already unfolding. According to sources, by May 16, Sonam had conspired with her lover to eliminate Raja, not to let him be a hindrance in her affair with Raj.
The newly-wed couple arrived in Shillong on May 20, just nine days after tying the knot in Indore on May 11. They went missing on May 23, only hours after checking out of a homestay in Nongriat village near Sohra (Cherrapunji).
Nearly ten days later, on June 2, the husband’s body was discovered near the picturesque Weisawdong Falls in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district — about 20 km from where they were last seen. Meanwhile, the wife remained missing, triggering a massive multi-state search operation.
Sonam met Raj five months before wedding
Raj worked with Sonam's father, which is how the two met and got into a romantic relationship, about five months before her scheduled wedding with Raja Raghuvanshi.
Sonam was aware that her father, a heart patient, would never approve of her marrying Raj. So she devised a plan - she would marry someone else, eliminate him, and later remarry Raj with her father's approval under the pretext of being a widow.
Plan was to kill Raja and pass it off as robbery
According to sources, Sonam told Raj, "Let's get rid of Raja and make it look like a robbery. Once I'm a widow, my father will agree to marry me off to you." Raj agreed to the plan.
At the time of the murder, Raja and Sonam were staying at a homestay in Cherrapunji.
Sonam took Raja to a cliff for a photoshoot
The accused were staying just one kilometre away in a hotel. Sonam is believed to have shared her exact location with the killers.
On 23 May, using a photo shoot as a pretext, Sonam took Raja to a secluded hilly area. She stayed behind as three men approached Raja. Once they found an isolated spot, they allegedly killed Raja as part of the plan.
An escape plan and giving up
After the murder, Sonam fled from Shillong to Guwahati that same evening. From there, she boarded a train and travelled via Varanasi to Ghazipur. To avoid being traced, she destroyed her mobile phone.
The police obtained CCTV footage showing Sonam speaking to the accused. Further investigation through call detail records (CDR) and location tracking led them to Raj Kushwaha in Indore, who was soon arrested.
Once Sonam learnt that Raj had been caught, she realised that their secret was out and the plan had failed. She subsequently confessed to her role in the crime.
