Shillong: In a twist to the sensational murder case of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, during his honeymoon in Meghalaya, the police now claim that his newly-wed wife Sonam’s alleged paramour Raj Kushwaha was the mastermind.
It was so far being suspected that Sonam was the mastermind and had roped in Kushwaha to assist her. The police now say that Sonam was a co-conspirator. It has also been claimed by the police that Kushwaha had plans to murder a woman and burn her body to pass it off as that of Sonam’s, in order to buy some more time for them to make a clean getaway.
“The conspiracy was hatched in Indore, shortly before the wedding between Raja and Sonam on May 11. The mastermind was Kushwaha while Sonam had agreed to the plot,” Vivek Syiem, SP, East Khasi Hills, said.
A few days after the wedding, Raja (29) and Sonam (24) visited Sohra in Meghalaya. The couple went missing under mysterious circumstances since May 23. On June 2, Raja’s decomposed body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls, while a search continued for Sonam.
Sonam finally turned up at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, nearly 1,200 km from Meghalaya, on June 9. She surrendered to the police. Meanwhile, Kushwaha and his three friends – Vishal, Akash and Anand – were arrested.
“Kushwaha did give the three Rs 50,000, but it was not a routine contract killing. The three were friends, and one of them is also Kushwaha’s cousin. They agreed to the plan to help Kushwaha,” Syiem told the media.
According to him, several plans were discussed to buy more time for Sonam. One of the plans was to say that she had been washed away by the strong currents of a river. The other was to kill a woman and burn the body.
“The couple reached Assam on May 19. The trio were there already. The initial plan was to kill Raja in Guwahati. However, this did not work out and Sonam decided to travel to Shillong and Sohra. The couple met the three again at Nongriat in Sohra on May 23. The five then started together for Weisawdong Falls. At a secluded place, the three attacked Raja and struck him with a machete purchased in Guwahati. Raja was killed between 2 pm and 2.18 pm in Sonam’s presence. The body was then thrown into the gorge,” Syiem added.
Kushwaha had given Vishal a burqa for Sonam. She wore it, went to the centrally located Police Bazaar in Shillong and took a taxi to Guwahati. From Guwahati, she travelled to Siliguri, in West Bengal, by bus. From there, she took buses to go to Patna and Arah and boarded a train for Lucknow. From Lucknow, Sonam took a bus and reached Indore.
The SP said that the turning point was the revelation by a tour guide, who saw the five making their way towards Weisawdong Falls on May 23. Two Meghalaya police teams, in plainclothes, went to Uttar Pradesh and Indore immediately. The first arrest made was that of Akash in Uttar Pradesh.
“Kushwaha had initially told Sonam to return to Siliguri, go to the police and claim that she had been abducted. However, he panicked after Akash’s arrest. He then told her to call up her family and say that she had escaped from the clutches of a gang of abductors. They thought that Raja’s body would never be recovered and the police would buy the abduction theory,” Syiem said.
The statements of the five have been recorded and the process of collection of more evidence is underway. The crime scene will also be reconstructed. The SP said that he is certain of filing a chargesheet in the matter within the mandatory 90 days.
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