HT DIGITAL
SHILLONG, JULY 25: Nearly two months after the horrendous killing of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi on his honeymoon in Meghalaya, his bereaved family went back to the spot where his lifeless body was found to conduct a puja and find spiritual solace.
The ceremony was conducted on Thursday at a remote parking lot alongside Weisawdong Falls in the district of East Khasi Hills—a site so emotionally taxing now remembered by the Raghuvanshi family. Relatives, headed by Raja’s older brother Vipin Raghuvanshi, offered respects and called for immediate justice for the heinous crime. “No family should have to go through this,” said Vipin. “But this ritual was important for us to begin healing. Those who conspired and murdered our Raja must not walk free.”
Raja and wife Sonam Raghuvanshi had gone missing on May 23, soon after they arrived in Shillong for their honeymoon. Days later, Raja’s mutilated body was discovered dumped in a gorge in Sohra (Cherrapunji). What began as a missing persons inquiry soon escalated into a high-profile murder case.
The police say the killing was, in fact, planned by Sonam, with whom Raja got married on May 11, days before his assassination. She allegedly hatched a conspiracy with her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha, along with three others—Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi—all from Indore—to murder him. Sonam was subsequently spotted at a dhaba in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. All the five accused have been arrested and are under judicial custody. The case is still causing rage and demands for justice everywhere in the country.