Murder in Meghalaya: Wife, lover hatched plot, say cops

SONAM WAS HELD FROM A ROADSIDE EATERY IN U.P.'S GHAZIPUR, OVER 1,200KM FROM THEIR HOMESTAY IN MEGHALAYA

- David Laitphlang, Utpal Parashar, Shruti Tomar and Sudhir Kumar

Two weeks ago, Indore newlyweds Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam Raghuvanshi vanished from a homestay after visiting the scenic living root bridges of Meghalaya. A week ago, 29-year-old Raja's decomposed body was recovered from a nearby gorge. And on Monday, 25-year-old Sonam turned up at a roadside eatery in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district—more than 1,200km away—and was arrested for her husband's murder.

Meghalaya Police said Sonam Raghuvanshi allegedly conspired with her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha to hire three other men to kill her husband Raja, a businessman, during their honeymoon, nearly two weeks after their wedding.

Meghalaya director general of police, I Nongrang, said that Sonam surrendered before Nandganj police in Ghazipur in the early hours of Monday, and four other men were caught during overnight raids in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. "So far, what we know is that Sonam and Kushwaha hatched a conspiracy to kill Raja so that they can live together," the DGP said. It remained unclear how Sonam made it halfway across the country without getting tracked.

Kushwaha, 21, and one of the three assailants, Vishal Singh Chauhan alias Vikki, 22, are from Madhya Pradesh's Indore, the same town as Raja and Sonam. Another assailant Akash Rajput, 19—is from Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh, said police. East Khasi Hills superintendent of police Vivek Syiem said one person—Anand Kurmi—was arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district on Monday.

Police have not shared details of the FIR, but officials said on condition of anonymity that they registered a murder case on June 2 after Raja's body with injuries to head was found.

In the evening, a court in Ghazipur granted the Meghalaya Police three-day transit remand to take Sonam to the state for further investigation.

On similar lines, an Indore court gave the police seven days of transmit remand to take Kushwaha, Chauhan and Rajput to Meghalaya.