Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Sonam confesses to plotting husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s killing
Shillong: Sonam Raghuvanshi, the main accused in the killing of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, has confessed to her role in the crime, sources told IANS on Wednesday.
She admitted to orchestrating the murder during questioning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) earlier in the day, the sources said. Her confession was formally recorded in the presence of Meghalaya Police officials, confirming her direct involvement.
All five accused — Sonam Raghuvanshi, her alleged boyfriend Raj Kushwaha, and three others, Anand Kurmi, Akash Rajput, and Vishal Singh Chauhan — are to be produced in a Shillong court.
Police said the three alleged contract killers — Akash, Anand, and Vikash — travelled from Indore to Shillong in separate phases to avoid detection.
Investigators tracked their movements using CCTV footage, train ticket records, and Aadhaar card photocopies, which helped establish their identities and route to Meghalaya.
On May 23, the hired killers joined the couple on a trek, posing as tourists, police said.
Albert Pde, a local guide, told authorities he had offered to assist the group but was declined. He noted that they were speaking in Hindi and deliberately chose a secluded trekking path away from the popular Double Decker Living Root Bridge trail.
Sonam was arrested after she surrendered at the Nandganj police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district early Monday.
Her surrender came after days of pressure from a coordinated multi-state investigation involving police teams from Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
According to investigators, she had plotted her husband’s murder and hired contract killers to execute it during their honeymoon. The other accused were arrested in raids across Madhya Pradesh. IANS