Accused in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case being brought to a court in a police vehicle
Credit: PTI Photo
Guwahati: Sonam, the "prime accused" in Meghalaya honeymoon murder case broke down before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and confessed to plotting her husband Raja Raghuvanshi's murder, sources in Meghalaya police said on Wednesday.
"Initially she remained silent but later broke down and nodded her head to the evidences that proved that she and her boyfriend plotted the murder. But her statements during interrogation before a magistrate is crucial for the investigation and the trial," a police officer in Shillong said.
East Khasi Hills district SP, Vivek Syiem, however, asked media not to speculate and said corroboration of the statements with the evidence including CCTV footage and call records is crucial before reaching any conclusion.
He also did not say anything about Sonam confessing to be part of the plot. The SP, however, said police has adequate evidence about their involvement in the crime.
Police remand
Sonam, her "boyfriend" Raj Kushwaha and three other accused, Vishal Singh Chouhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi were remanded to eight day police custody for interrogation by a court in Shillong on Wednesday evening.
The five were arrested from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, on June 8 and 9, a week after Raja's body was recovered from a gorge near Sohra, a popular tourist spot in East Khasi Hills district.
They were brought to Shillong on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The couple had visited Meghalaya on May 23 and checked-in a home stay before moving out in a rented scooter. They visited a secluded peak, which has remained closed due to a local dispute.
Police investigation so far revealed that 29-year-old Raja was killed with a sharp weapon by the three accused, who according to police, Sonam and her boyfriend had hired for the crime. But it is still not clear why Raja did not object when the three followed them to the closed peak. They pushed Raja into the gorge before fleeing separately to Guwahati, about 140km away, and fled by trains, police said.
A police officer in Shillong said preliminary investigation suggested that Sonam had an affair with Kushwaha for long and she probably was unhappy with the marrige. Kushwaha is five years younger than Sonam. He said Sonam looked on as the three accused killed him and had thrown him into the gorge.
Timeline:
May 11: Sonam and Raja Raghuvanshi got marriged at Indore in presence of families.
May 22: The couple reached Meghalaya for honeymoon.
May 23: The families of the couple reports about their disappearance.
June 2: Body of Raja recovered from a gorge near Sohra.
JUne 8, 9: Sonam and four other accused arrested.