His sister had “100 percent” killed her husband, Sonam Raghuvanshi’s brother Govind said on Wednesday as the young woman and four men accused in the sensational “honeymoon murder” of 29-year-old Raja Raghuvanshi were sent to eight-day police custody in Shillong.
Convinced of his sister’s guilt, Govind Raghuvanshi also said his family had snapped ties with her and vowed to fight a legal battle to get justice for Raja Raghuvanshi’s family.
Wednesday marks one month to the day Sonam and Raja Raghuvanshi got married. The Indore couple went to Meghalaya for their honeymoon and went missing soon after.
Raja’s blood stained body was found 10 days later in a deep gorge and Sonam was presumed missing till June 9, when she was nabbed from a dhaba hundreds of miles away in Uttar Pradesh.
A court in Shillong sent Sonam and her four aides to eight-day police custody. “Police sought a 10-day remand. The court granted 8 days of police custody," East Khasi Hills district SP Vivek Syiem told PTI.
The 24-year-old woman was arrested from Ghazipur, while her aides were apprehended from Indore for their alleged role in conspiring to kill Raja.
The special investigation team sought police custody of the accused to reconstruct the crime scene in Sohra, the officer said.
Investigators said Sonam told Raja Raghuvanshi that she would let him consummate the marriage only after making an offering at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati.
Accordingly, Raja planned their trip to Guwahati and adjacent Meghalaya, while his wife and her boyfriend allegedly plotted to kill him in the jungles of the north-eastern state, they said.
"Sonam convinced Raja that they need to make offerings at the Kamakhya Devi Temple before consummating the marriage," a police officer who is a part of the investigation told PTI.
Sonam and Raja got married in Indore on May 11 and arrived in Meghalaya via Guwahati on May 20. Both went missing on May 23 in Sohra in East Khasi Hills district, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village.
Raja's body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2. A search continued for Sonam, who emerged in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, around 1,200 km away, in the early hours of June 9 and surrendered as police arrested her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and the three contract killers hired by them to murder Raja.
"Sonam coerced her husband to take her to the deep jungles of Nongriat with the belief that the hitmen she hired would have a better chance of killing him somewhere on the route, considering it is secluded. But, since there were too many tourists trekking to Nongriat on May 22 and May 23, they couldn't kill him there," the officer said.
"They finally killed him near Weisawdong Falls, and dumped his body into the deep gorge," he said.
Syiem, who is overseeing the investigation, told PTI that the contract killers arrived in Guwahati on May 21, a day after the couple reached the north-east.
The killers procured a machete from outside their hotel in Guwahati, and then travelled by road to Shillong, he said.
"We have gathered CCTV evidence, making this investigation a very tight-knit one," he said.
Sonam was in touch with her boyfriend Raj throughout the day of the murder, while Raj coordinated with the three contract killers, he said.
"Sonam was present when Raja was killed," the officer said, adding that after the crime, she fled.
Sonam, her boyfriend Raj and the three suspected contract killers were produced before a court in Shillong on Wednesday.
Sonam’s brother Govind said that based on the evidence so far, he knows "100 per cent" that it was his sister who executed the crime, and she should be hanged if found guilty.
Govind also said that his family has snapped ties with her after her alleged involvement in the killing of her husband came to light.
An emotional Govind reached Raja Raghuvanshi's house in Indore to console the latter's family members. Sharing the family's grief, he hugged Raja's mother Uma and broke down. Coming out in support of the victim's family, he vowed to fight a legal battle to get justice for them. He later addressed media persons.
When asked if Sonam should be given capital punishment if charges against her were proven, he said, "Absolutely. If Sonam is found guilty, she should be hanged straight away. I will appoint a lawyer myself to represent Raja Raghuvanshi's family in the court." "I am with the truth. Raja Raghuvanshi's family has lost a son. I have apologised to his family. Our family has broken ties with Sonam," he said.
"I do not know whether my sister Sonam has confessed her crime in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case or not, but from the evidence that is coming out, I know 100 per cent that she is the one who executed this crime," he said.
He, however, dismissed reports of the alleged love affair between Sonam and Raj Kushwaha, another prime accused in the case.
"Raj always called Sonam didi (sister). Sonam tied a rakhi to me and Raj while together in my house. Raj was just our employee. He was working in our office for two-three years. He used to manage the office and handle clients," he said.
Govind claimed that the three other accused in the case - Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi - have an old relationship with Raj Kushwaha.
Sonam made the first phone call to Govind before she surrendered before the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur.
"During the phone call, she was crying miserably and was very nervous. I informed the police myself and got her to surrender," he said.
