In a shocking development, four people including the wife have been arrested in connection with the murder of an Indore man who was killed during his honeymoon in Meghalaya. According to Meghalaya DGP Idashisha Nongrang, the wife allegedly orchestrated the murder by hiring contract killers.
Confirming the swift action, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said in a post on X, “Within 7 days a major breakthrough has been achieved by the #MeghalayaPolice in the Raja murder case. Three assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested, female has surrendered and operation still on to catch one more assailant. Well done #MeghalayaPolice.”
'Missing' wife caught in Ghazipur
Indore tourist Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam went missing during their honeymoon in the Meghalaya on May 23. On June 2, the husband's body was found in a gorge at Sohrarim near Cherapunji in the northeastern state.
Sonam, who had been missing for 17 days, was found at a roadside eatery in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. Her father has confirmed the news. "One person was picked up from UP, and another two accused were apprehended from Indore by the SIT," the Meghalaya DGP said.
She said that the operation was still ongoing in Madhya Pradesh to apprehend additional individuals involved in the crime.
Three men had accompanied the couple on the day they went missing
A tourist guide, Albert Pde, in Meghalaya had told the police that the honeymooners from Indore were accompanied by three men on the day they went missing.
According to Pde, he saw the couple with the three men climbing over 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am on May 23. He recognised the couple from the previous day, when he had offered his services to guide them down to Nongriat, but they had declined and hired another guide.
"The four men were walking ahead while the woman was behind. The four men were conversing in Hindi but I could not understand what they were speaking as I know only Khasi and English," Pde said.
Family denies Sonam's involvement in murder
Amid the unfolding twists in the Indore honeymoon murder case, Sonam Raghuvanshi’s father, Devi Singh, has come out strongly in her defense, asserting that she is being wrongly implicated in the death of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi. “My daughter is innocent. I trust her completely—she cannot do something like this,” Singh told the media, emphasizing that the couple had married with the full consent of both families.
Singh further alleged that the investigation by the Meghalaya Police is biased and politically influenced. Accusing the state government of hiding the truth, he claimed the police were complicit in Raja’s murder. Demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, Singh also called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene, stating that a fair investigation would expose those truly responsible, including officials from Meghalaya.
Sonam located in Ghazipur, to be handed over to Meghalaya Police
According to Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash, Sonam, contacted her family around 3 AM and informed them she was at Kashi Dhaba on the Varanasi-Ghazipur main road. Ghazipur Police reached the spot, took her for a medical check-up, and later shifted her to the One Stop Centre for care and security.
Yash confirmed that the Meghalaya Police, currently in Indore for the investigation, will take custody of Sonam once they arrive in Ghazipur. He also clarified that UP Police have not interrogated her.