Fresh details continue to emerge amid the row over the recent murder of Indore's Raja Raghuvanshi, whose decomposed body was recovered from a gorge in Meghalaya on June 2. The deceased had reportedly gone to Meghalaya with his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, for their honeymoon after getting married on May 11.
A series of revelations so far has indicated that Sonam and her alleged boyfriend, Raj Kushwaha, are the suspected masterminds behind Raja's killing, while a few others are involved as well.
From a trail of digital footprints, bloodstained clothes and a machete, CCTV footage, and key witness testimonies, an extensive investigation so far has retrieved several solid evidence pointing to an alleged conspiracy.
An angle of contract killing also emerged as police alleged that Sonam possibly hired people to kill her husband, as she was involved with one of the accused. A district court in Indore has sent the five accused to seven days' custody.
The Case So Far
Sonam Raghuvanshi has been accused of orchestrating the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, was produced before a local court in Ghazipur on Monday night for transit remand permission, following which she was expected to be taken into custody by a Meghalaya Police team that reached here in the evening.
The court proceedings continued till late in the night.
According to the Times of India, after being taken into custody, Sonam told Ghazipur police, 바카라œI didn바카라™t kill my husband. They killed him for the jewellery," as she referred to the four other accused, Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi.
Police To Reconstruct Crime Scene In Shillong
A special investigation team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police brought Sonam Raghuvanshi to Shillong to reconstruct the crime scene in Sohra, a senior officer told PTI on Wednesday.
"The SIT that brought Sonam arrived here shortly before midnight. She was taken to a hospital here around 2 am to ascertain whether she was pregnant or not. She had undergone three tests. Sonam will be produced before a court here," a senior police officer told PTI.
"The four other accused persons- Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand Kuli - have also been brought here on transit remand on Wednesday," the officer said.
The SIT will seek "police custody of all the arrested persons, and will reconstruct the crime scene in Sohra", he said.
Evidence Collected So Far
The Meghalaya Police, which codenamed the investigation as 'Operation Honeymoon', collected evidence from the residences and other places frequented by the accused in Indore and Ghazipur.
According to a report by NDTV, the most crucial physical evidence collected so far includes a blood-stained shirt belonging to one of the accused, Akash, which was confirmed by forensic analysis to contain Raja Raghuvanshi's blood.
Sonam's raincoat, also bearing blood traces, is under forensic analysis as well, alongside blood-stained clothes worn by another accused, Anand, at the time of his arrest.
The alleged murder weapon, a 'khukri' (a curved blade) has been recovered and is being examined.
Fingerprints of the accused on various surfaces, including the murder weapon and Raja's belongings.
Electronic evidence, including mobile phones and digital devices used by the accused, CCTV footage from 42 locations, and tracking movements of Sonam, Raja, and the accused across Meghalaya have been retrieved.
Call detail records prove active communication between Sonam, her alleged partner Raj Kushwaha, and the three killers.
Missing Links in the Investigation
Despite these crucial breakthroughs, a few pieces of key evidence, including Sonam's and others' mobile phones, are yet to be recovered.
The money trail to confirm the alleged transaction of rupees 20 lakh, which Sonam reportedly offered for the murder, is yet to be confirmed.
However, the police official, Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Syiem, who cracked the case, told NDTV that there is substantial evidence to implicate the victim's wife and her alleged partner, Raj Kushwaha.
