In a major development in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case, Meghalaya Police brought the prime accused Sonam Raghuvanshi and four other suspects to Shillong on Wednesday. All five are currently being held at the Shillong Sadar Police Station.
The accused — Sonam Raghuvanshi, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Raj Singh Kushwaha, and Anand — are alleged to have conspired in the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, who had recently married and was on his honeymoon in Meghalaya. His body was discovered on June 2 in a deep gorge near Sohra, close to Cherrapunji.
Sonam, the victim’s wife, is on a three-day transit remand, while the other four accused are on a seven-day remand. All five will undergo medical examinations — Sonam at Ganesh Das Hospital, and the others at Civil Line Hospital — before being presented before the court.
On Tuesday, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong confirmed the transportation of the accused to Shillong and revealed that some had already confessed to their involvement. He added that Sonam is “fully involved” in orchestrating the crime.
“All the accused have been arrested from different states — some in Madhya Pradesh and some in Uttar Pradesh — and brought to Shillong by the Special Investigation Team,” Tynsong said.
In an earlier incident at Indore airport, a bystander attempted to attack one of the accused as they were being escorted by police, reflecting growing public outrage over the case.
Raja and Sonam, both from Indore, had gone missing during their trip to Meghalaya. While Raja’s body was later found in a remote area, Sonam was discovered days later near a roadside eatery on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway.
Further investigations are underway as police prepare to present the suspects before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Shillong.