Shillong: The Meghalaya Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) has asked the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to search for a second machete used to murder Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi during his honeymoon trip to Sohra in the state’s picturesque East Khasi Hills district on May 23.
Raghuvanshi was murdered by three persons on the behest of his wife Sonam and her paramour Raj Kushwaha. All five are now in police custody.
On Tuesday, the police took Sonam and the three youths, directly involved in the murder, to the spot where Raghuvanshi met his end to reconstruct the crime scene.
Vivek Syiem, SP, East Khasi Hills, described the reconstruction as “very successful,” and said that the police now have a “very clear picture” of the crime.
The SIT retraced the movements of the accused, starting from the parking lot where their two-wheelers were parked to the viewpoint where the murder took place.
According to Syiem, the murder involved three blows delivered by the accused Vishal, Anand, and Akash.
“We have ascertained that one more machete still needs to be recovered. The accused replayed how they threw the machete. SDRF are trying to recover the second weapon,” SP Syiem said.
The investigation also revealed that Raja’s mobile phone was deliberately damaged by Sonam and then totally destroyed by Vishal, following the murder. The accused reenacted how they destroyed the phone and their subsequent exit from the crime scene.
“We have ascertained what happened to Raja’s mobile phone. It was damaged by Sonam and then by Vishal. This whole thing was played out, and also their exit from here,” Syiem explained.
The police have confirmed that Raghuvanshi was struck first by Vishal, causing a fatal injury, after which Sonam moved away from the spot. The three accused then disposed of Raja’s body by throwing it down a gorge.
Syiem told ANI that Sonam has confessed to her role in the murder. The crime was premeditated, with the three accused delivering the fatal blows while Sonam stood by and destroyed her husband’s phone.
“She (Sonam) has already confessed to the crime… Today we recreated the crime scene, where she stood, what her role was, everything has come out today… The three people killed Raghuvanshi, and Sonam was standing there. She destroyed the phone. It was all pre-planned… All three of them dumped his body,” he said.
Raghuvanshi (29) and Sonam (25) travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon. The couple went missing on May 23 in Sohra, and Raja’s decomposed body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2.
Sonam was later apprehended near a roadside dhaba on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway. The Meghalaya Police have also arrested Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi.
