The Meghalaya state police has issued a statement regarding the murder case of Indore tourist Raja Raghuvanshi as they claimed that his newly wedded wife Sonam Raghuvanshi hired three men to kill him. They said that Raghuvanshi herself surrendered before the Uttar Pradesh Police and is in their custody currently.
Uttar Pradesh ADG Law and Order Amitabh Yash has informed the media that 24-year-old Sonam Raghuvanshi from Govindnagar Khadsa, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, was found in the night at Kashi Dhaba situated on the Varanasi Ghazipur main road and she was sent to Sadar Hospital for initial treatment and then kept in One Stop Centre.
Raghuvanshi and his wife went missing while vacationing in Sohra area in Meghalaya바카라s East Khasi Hills district on May 23. His body was found in a gorge on June 2, while a search for his wife was underway.
The families of the husband and the wife had sought a CBI investigation. A special investigation team (SIT) headed by an SP and assisted by four DSPs was probing the matter.
What Did Police Say?
DGP I Nongrang told PTI that the Indore tourist Raja Raghuvanshi was allegedly killed by men, hired by his wife, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya.
Nongrang also told the news agency that the wife, Sonam, surrendered before the Nandganj Police Station in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, while three other assailants were arrested in overnight raids.
Of the three arrested persons, two are from Madhya Pradesh바카라s Indore and one from Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh, reportedly.
"One person was picked up from UP, and another two accused were apprehended from Indore by the SIT," the DGP said.
"Sonam surrendered at the Nandganj police station in UP, and was subsequently arrested," she added.
Nongrang said the arrested men had revealed that the wife had hired them to kill Raghuvanshi.
"The operation is still continuing in Madhya Pradesh to catch some more persons involved in the crime," she said.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh ADG Law and Order Amitabh Yash, in a statement, said, "Sonam Raghuvanshi, Govindnagar Khadsa, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, aged about 24 years, was found in the night at Kashi Dhaba situated on the Varanasi Ghazipur main road. She was sent to Sadar Hospital for initial treatment and then kept in One Stop Centre..."
A one-stop centre provides assistance to women in distress, both in private and public places.
A statement, issued by the Meghalaya Police, said Sonam is currently in the custody of the Uttar Pradesh Police, and necessary legal protocols are being followed for her transit.
바카라The arrests mark a decisive development in unravelling the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Raja Raghuvanshi and the subsequent disappearance of his wife,바카라 it said.
The outcome of the investigation is the "result of round-the-clock efforts by the Meghalaya Police바카라s Special Investigation Team (SIT), supported by State Disaster Response Force and National Disaster Response Force, local intelligence units and law enforcement agencies across multiple states", the statement said.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma congratulated the state police for cracking the case that had shocked the nation.
"Within 7 days, a major breakthrough has been achieved by the #meghalayapolice in the Raja murder case... 3 assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested, female has surrendered and operation still on to catch 1 more assailant바카라¦ well done," he posted on X.
Relatives Refused Claim
Sonam Raghuvanshi's father, Devi Singh Raghuvanshi has refuted the claims made by police and said, "My daughter is 100 per cent innocent. We demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case."
"The Meghalaya police are giving false statements about my daughter because the state government's image is getting tarnished due to Raja Raghuvanshi's murder case," he alleged.
He further claimed the Meghalaya police have no evidence against his daughter that she gave a contract to get her husband killed.
Meanwhile, the victim Raja Raghuvanshi's brother Vipin Raghuvanshi said, "Sonam made a video call to her brother Govind late last night. After this, we called the Uttar Pradesh police and informed them about Sonam being in their state."
"Until the alleged contract killers are confronted with Sonam, we cannot believe that she had hired them to kill her husband," he said.
If Sonam is found guilty in the murder of her husband, then she should get the harshest punishment, he added.
The name of a person named Raj Kushwaha has surfaced in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case.
Sonam's father, who runs a business of Sunmica sheets used in furniture, said a person named Raj Kushwaha is associated with his establishment and till the day before yesterday he was working at his warehouse.
"Kushwaha's name is being wrongly linked with my daughter Sonam. The Meghalaya police are making false allegations against my daughter to save their skin. I will send a legal notice to the Meghalaya police. I want the CBI to investigate the entire matter," he said.
Case So Far
PTI had on Saturday reported that a tourist guide in Mawlakhiat, Albert Pde, had seen Raghuvanshi and his wife with three men on the day they went missing.
Albert said that he had seen the couple, accompanied by three men, as they were climbing over 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am on May 23.
Albert said he recognised the couple as he had offered his services to them on the previous day to see the famed living roots bridge in Nongriat, but they had politely refused and hired another guide.
He also said that all three men accompanying the couple were speaking in Hindi, indicating that they were not locals.
The families of the husband and the wife had sought a CBI investigation.
Raghuvanshi's body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls. A gold ring and a neck chain were found missing from his body, further leading to suspicion that he was murdered.
A day later, a bloodstained machete was found nearby, and two days later, a raincoat that was similar to the one used by the couple was found in Mawkma village, halfway between Sohrarim and the gorge where Raghuvanshi's body was found.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday said he has requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to order a CBI probe into the case.
On Friday, Sonam's family urged the Centre to hand over the case to the CBI, expressing dissatisfaction with the probe of the Meghalaya Police.
"My daughter has been abducted and is still in the clutches of her captors. Meghalaya Police are not investigating the matter properly. They have been negligent right from the beginning. I have been seeking the deployment of the Army since the day they went missing. If it was done in time, they would have been found safely," Sonam's father, Devi Singh Raghuvanshi, told PTI.
After their marriage on May 11, the couple left for Meghalaya on May 20 for their honeymoon.
They arrived at Mawlakhiat village on May 22 on a rented scooter.
On May 24, their scooter was found abandoned at a cafe along the road from Shillong to Sohra, following which the search for them began.
