Meghalaya Police on Monday disclosed that the gruesome murder of Indore native Raja Raghuvanshi may have been orchestrated by his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, just days after their wedding. The couple had travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon, where Raja was allegedly murdered on May 23 in a plot involving his wife, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha, and three hired accomplices.
The investigation began after Raja’s body was recovered in East Khasi Hills on June 2, nearly ten days after he was reported missing. According to Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem, an SIT (Special Investigation Team) was immediately formed to probe the suspicious circumstances. As evidence mounted, it pointed toward a premeditated crime orchestrated by Sonam, who allegedly hired the killers while maintaining an extramarital relationship with her former employee, Raj Kushwaha.
Kushwaha, along with three others—Akash Rajput (19) from Lalitpur, Vishal Singh Chauhan (22), and Raj Singh Kushwaha (21), both from Indore—have been arrested. A fourth accused, Anand Kurmi, was apprehended from Basari village in Sagar district, Madhya Pradesh.
Sonam, who was reportedly underground since the crime, surrendered in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, only after Kushwaha and the other co-conspirators were taken into custody. “Her sudden appearance after the arrests is quite telling,” remarked SP Syiem. “She was completely untraceable until then. The timing indicates pre-awareness of the police’s progress.”
The police confirmed that teams from Meghalaya are currently in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to secure Sonam’s transit remand and bring her back for interrogation. Authorities believe she masterminded the murder with Kushwaha, leveraging their personal relationship to recruit killers.
Adding another dimension to the case, Raja’s brother, Vipul Raghuvanshi, told ANI that Raj Kushwaha had been Sonam’s employee and the two were frequently in touch. “I wasn’t aware of him until this came to light. Now that his name has surfaced, it confirms suspicions about her involvement,” he said.
The murder, allegedly committed while the newlyweds were on a honeymoon, has stunned the public due to the cold-blooded nature of the act and the betrayal by a newlywed wife. Investigations continue as police piece together the timeline and motive, which now appears to stem from a long-standing affair and a calculated murder-for-hire plot.