Meghalaya: Sonam, Raj sent to 13-day judicial custody in Raghuvanshi murder case

SHillong: A margaret court in Meghalaya’s Shillong on sat remanded deuce of the undercoat accused in the polish off of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi — his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi and her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha — to 13 days judicial custody.The order of the court of the judicial magistrate first class in Shillong comes two days after the same court sent the three other accused — Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi — to 14 days of judicial custody on Thursday.All five accused had earlier been in police custody following their arrests between June 8 and 9 from different locations across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.With today’s order, the murder suspects will now be lodged in judicial custody as the Meghalaya Police continue to pursue crucial leads in a case that has stunned the nation.A senior police officer involved in the investigation said, “The investigation is still ongoing as we gather more clues and information, while at the same time working diligently towards filing the chargesheet.”Police have already reconstructed the crime scene near Wei Sawdong Falls, where Raja Raghuvanshi was attacked with machetes and his body thrown into a gorge. During the reconstruction, police recovered the second machete used in the crime, following confessions by the accused.A team of the Meghalaya Police stationed in Indore has been investigating the financial angles behind the crime and searching for Raja’s missing valuables. Earlier this week, the team searched Sonam’s maternal home and examined two suitcases — one red and one blue — reportedly looking for Raja’s missing gold and diamond jewellery, which remain unaccounted for.Police also questioned her family members, visited the family’s plywood factory, and inspected the office of Sonam’s brother Govind Raghuvanshi.The trail of deception has led police to uncover multiple layers of conspiracy, including digital manipulation and fake identities. One such identity was ‘Sanjay Verma’, a name saved on Sonam’s phone that turned out to be Raj Kushwaha operating under an alias. Phone records revealed that between March 1 and March 25 — weeks before the murder — Sonam and “Sanjay” exchanged 119 long phone calls, raising suspicions of a premeditated conspiracy.Adding a new dimension to the case, a woman named Ujala Yadav came forward claiming that she sat next to Sonam on a Gorakhpur-bound bus from Varanasi shortly after Raja’s murder. She said that Sonam appeared anxious and was accompanied by two unidentified men at the Varanasi bus terminal. This sighting has helped investigators map Sonam’s movement after the murder and supported the timeline established by police.Raja Raghuvanshi married Sonam on May 11 in Indore and the couple arrived in Sohra (Cherrapunji), Meghalaya, on May 22 for their honeymoon. The next day, May 23, Raja was allegedly lured to the Wei Sawdong viewpoint by Sonam and murdered by the three hired men with machetes. Sonam reportedly fled the scene, only to return after the attack had ended. Raja’s decomposed body was discovered in a gorge near the falls’ parking lot on June 2.The five accused will be produced again before the court on completion of their judicial remand.