Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Raj Kushwaha, 3 other accused knew each other well

Raj Kushwaha who allegedly plotted the murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi with the latters wife Sonam during their honeymoon in Meghalaya and three other men hired for committing the crime knew each other since the past police officials said reported the PTIAccording to the Indore police Kushwaha suspected to be the boyfriend of Sonam did not travel to Meghayala and continued with his daily routine to avoid any suspicionKhushwaha worked as an accountant at a furniture sheet unit owned by the family of Sonam After the wedding on May 11 Raja and Sonam went for their honeymoon to the northeastern state reported PTIHours after checking out of their homestay at Nongriat village the couple went missing on May 23 Dead body of Raja was found 20 km away from this village on June 2Sonam allegedly hired three men who killed Raja and she later went missing Sonam then surfaced in UPrsquos Ghazipur on Sunday night where she surrendered at the Nandganj police station after Akash Rajput 19 Vishal Singh Chauhan 22 and Anand Kurmi were arrested from UP and Indore and Sagar townsLater the prime conspirator Raj Singh Kushwaha 21 was arrestedPrima facie there is reportedly no previous criminal record against all four accused aged 20 to 25 years in local police stations an Indore Police official said adding that the accused have known each other for longCurrently all the three accused are under the transit custody of Meghalaya PoliceThe police revealed that Sonam Raghuvanshi orchestrated the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Sohra town in MeghalayaThe local tourist guide alerted the police about the three men who accompanied the couple on the day they went missing On Tuesday this guide identified the suspect after seeing some picturesAlbert Pde the guide at Mawlakhiat told PTI I could identify one of the suspects from the photos provided by police I am happy that the criminals are finally behind bars We stand vindicated Those who tried to tarnish the image of Sohra and its people as violent have now been exposedrdquoThe autopsy report of Raja revealed that he was hit twice with a sharp object on his headThe autopsy report indicated there were two sharp cuts on the head of the deceased one from behind and one from the front East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem saidA Special Investigation Team SIT from Meghalaya awaviled a transit remand fro Sonam and they are bringing her to Shillong where she will be presented in the courtEarlier in the day the Meghalaya police brought Anand Kurmi before the court and sent him on sevenday transit remand informed Indorersquos Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh DandotiaRaj Kushwahas mother Chunni Devi asserted that her son was innocent and was framed in the case She also mentioned that Raj had cried inconsolably while attending Raja Raghuvanshis funeral in IndoreMy son is innocent He has been framed How can a 20yearold boy commit such a big crime He is the only breadwinner after my husband passed away Chunni Devi told PTIShe also informed that her son was working at the business establishment owned by Sonams family for the past two yearsRajs sister Suhani also objected to the reports regarding her brother being romantically involved with Sonam emphasising that they had a connection like brother and sisterMy brother and Sonam only shared the employeeemployer relationship He addressed Sonam as didi while she called him bhaiya Suhani addedA video went viral of Raj comforting Sonams father Devi Singh Raghuvanshi who reached the house of Raja before the funeralOn contorary Rajas father Ashok Raghuvanshi demanded the death penalty for all culpritsMy son died in agony All the culprits should be hanged to set an example so that no family loses its son to such crime in future he saidHe also alleged that Sonam murdered her husband to remove the Mangal Dosh she had in her horoscope so that she could later marry her alleged lover Raj KushwahaInitially Rajarsquos mother Uma did not believe that her daughterinwas could kill her son but was gradually convinced by possible involvementIf Sonam liked another boy why didnt she refuse to marry Raja Why did she kill my son Uma asked emphasising that Sonam planned to visit MeghalayaShe also alleged that Sonams family did not inform them about her affair with Raj Kushwaha before Meghalaya Police cracked the caseSonams mother Sangeeta claimed these to be false allegations against her daughterI cannot say right now what might have happened to Raja Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya she said and demanded a detailed investigation into the murder casePoliticians and common people from Meghalaya have expressed unhappiness over the portrayal of the northeastern state by the media in the wake of the murderRajas elder brother Vipin Raghuvanshi apologised for giving statements against the Meghalaya governmentWe did not know that Meghalaya Police were conducting a secret operation to nab Rajas killers We had no intention of defaming the Meghalaya government We are also grateful to the MP government for supporting us he addedWith inputs from PTI