HT Digital
SHILLONG, JUNE 12: A mangalsutra and a ring discovered in a suitcase were instrumental evidence in cracking the cold-blooded murder of Raja Raghuvanshi (29), who was found murdered during his honeymoon in Meghalaya’s picturesque Sohra (Cherrapunji). Meghalaya Director General of Police (DGP) Idashisha Nongrang said these common ornaments were the puzzle pieces that unveiled a stunning murder plot.
Raja and his wife Sonam (25), both from Indore, had gotten married on May 11 and traveled to Meghalaya through Guwahati on May 20 to spend their honeymoon. But three days later, on May 23, the couple disappeared after they checked out of a homestay in Nongriat village in the East Khasi Hills.
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The first big breakthrough was achieved when police found Sonam’s mangalsutra and a ring in a suitcase the couple had forgotten at a Sohra homestay. “A married woman leaving such personal jewelry behind raised suspicion. It became the first indication that Sonam could be a suspect rather than a victim,” DGP Nongrang informed PTI on Wednesday.
Police officials discovered that the couple had checked in at Sohra homestay on May 22 without an advance booking. They left their bags there and completed a trek of more than 3,000 steps to Nongriat, a favorite destination where there is a double-decker root bridge. They stayed overnight in a homestay there and checked out early the following morning, walked back to Sohra, picked up their scooter, and drove towards Weisawdong Falls.
It was at Weisawdong Falls that the tragedy unfolded. Raja was allegedly murdered in front of Sonam by three contract killers. His body was discovered in a gorge near the falls on June 2. Meanwhile, Sonam reappeared over a week later—on June 9—in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, nearly 1,200 km from the crime scene, where she surrendered to police in the early hours of the morning.
After her surrender, her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and the three contract assassins used in the murder were arrested by police. All five have owned up to the crime. A Shillong court has remanded them to eight days of police custody for further interrogation.
A tour guide in the area had previously witnessed the couple being escorted by three Hindi-speaking men on their return journey from Nongriat. This evidence again supported the police findings and produced a chronology of events.
