Indore honeymoon murder case: ‘Phone call from dhaba’ to ‘suspicious weapon’; how cops nabbed accused Sonam Raghuvanshi
Indore woman, Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of hiring men to kill her husband during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, surrendered to Uttar Pradesh Police. She was presented in a Ghazipur court for transit remand; three others have also been arrested in connection with the case.
Meghalaya honeymoon murder case: Sonam Raghuvanshi, a 24-year-old woman from Indore, who is accused of plotting the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, surrendered to the Uttar Pradesh Police in Ghazipur on Monday.
According to police, Sonam allegedly hired a group of men to murder Raja, a transport businessman, while they were visiting Sohra in the East Khasi Hills. The couple had married on 11 May and left for Meghalaya on 20 May. On 22 May, they reached Mawlakhiat village on a rented scooter. A day later, they were seen hiking from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat with three unidentified men.
Albert Pde, a local tourist guide who tipped off police after spotting the three men with the couple, stepped forward on Tuesday.
“I am happy that the criminals are finally behind bars,” Pde told PTI.
“We stand vindicated. Those who tried to tarnish the image of Sohra and its people as violent have now been exposed,” he added.
Pde recalled seeing the group around 10 am on 23 May, the day Raja and Sonam were reported missing. The couple’s scooter was later found abandoned outside a cafe along the Shillong-Sohra road on 24 May.
On 2 June, Raja's decomposed body was recovered from a gorge near Weisawdong Falls. He had suffered fatal head injuries. A bloodstained machete and other incriminating items were also found near the scene.
Raja’s autopsy, conducted at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), revealed two sharp cuts on his head — one from behind and one from the front.
Also Read: Raja Raghuvanshi murder: Wife Sonam, 3 more held in Meghalaya honeymoon horror case — Who are they?
“The autopsy report indicated there were two sharp cuts on the head of the deceased — one from behind and one from the front,” East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem told PTI, adding that these were also observed during the inquest. A murder case was subsequently registered at Sohra police station.
Unusual weapon raises suspicions
The unusual nature of the murder weapon raised suspicions of outside involvement. According to The Statesman, the machete was not commonly used in the region, prompting police to broaden their investigation beyond Meghalaya.
Meghalaya Director General of Police I Nongrang confirmed that Raja was allegedly murdered by individuals hired by Sonam. Police have so far arrested five suspects, including Sonam, Akash Rajput from Lalitpur, and two others from Indore. One suspect was apprehended in Uttar Pradesh.
Sonam went missing after murder
Sonam had gone missing following the murder. She was eventually tracked down after she borrowed a phone at ‘Kashi Dhaba’ on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway to call her parents. The call enabled Madhya Pradesh Police to trace her location.
Ghazipur SP Iraz Raja said Sonam was arrested from the dhaba and taken to Sadar Hospital for treatment before being housed at a one-stop centre for distressed women.
Later, around 6.30 pm on Monday, a Meghalaya Police team took her into custody from the shelter home. Though she was found at the dhaba, police said Sonam formally surrendered at Nandganj police station in Ghazipur district.
(With inputs from PTI)
- A phone call can lead to critical breakthroughs in criminal investigations.
- The complexities of domestic relationships can sometimes lead to tragic outcomes.
- Law enforcement collaboration across states is essential in solving cross-border crimes.
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