Honeymoon horror: 'Prime accused Sonam came to Indore after husband's murder and stayed in flat'

Indore/Shillong: Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case who was initially reported missing in Meghalaya, apparently visited Indore after her husband was murdered and stayed in a rented flat for three days, a police official said on Tuesday.

"We have received the information that Sonam came to Indore and stayed in a rented flat in Dewas Naka area between May 25 and 27," the official said, adding that Meghalaya Police will be able to give detailed information.

A Meghalaya Police team, meanwhile, visited one of the accused Vishal Chauhan's house in Indore.

Indore's Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Poonamchandra Yadav said based on information given by Chauhan, the pants and shirts he was wearing at the time of Raghuvanshi's murder were seized from his house.

"Meghalaya Police will send these clothes to the forensic science laboratory to find out whether there are blood stains on them," he said.

Indore's Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia said a 12-member team of Meghalaya Police left for Shillong with the four accused -- Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi -- after obtaining their transit custody from a court here.

A passenger slapped an accused arrested in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport here on Tuesday night, eyewitnesses said.

The incident took place when a Meghalaya Police team was entering the airport with four accused.

When a passenger waiting with his luggage saw them walking by, he suddenly slapped one of the accused, apparently expressing his anger over the murder that has grabbed national headlines.

As the accused were wearing masks, it could not be immediately known who among them was slapped. A video of the incident went viral.

According to police officials, Raj Kushwaha, who allegedly plotted the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi with Sonam during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, and three other men hired to execute the crime have known each other since the past.

Indore Police also claimed Kushwaha, the suspected boyfriend of Sonam, didn't travel to the northeastern state to avoid suspicion and went about his daily routine.

Despite being a class 12 pass-out, Kushwaha worked as an accountant at the furniture sheet unit owned by the family of Sonam, a resident of the Govind Nagar Kharcha area in Indore. She used to look after the family business.

After their wedding on May 11 in Indore, Raja and Sonam travelled to the northeastern state for honeymoon. They disappeared on May 23, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where Raja's body was found on June 2.

Raja was killed by three men allegedly hired by Sonam, who went 'missing'.

She surfaced in UP's Ghazipur on Sunday night where she surrendered at the Nandganj police station after Akash Rajput (19), Vishal Singh Chauhan (22), and Anand Kurmi were arrested from UP and Indore and Sagar towns. Raj Singh Kushwaha (21), the alleged conspirator, was arrested later.

Prima facie, there is no previous criminal record against all four accused, aged 20 to 25 years, in local police stations, an Indore Police official said, adding that the accused have known each other for long.

Kushwaha and three other accused are currently in the transit custody of Meghalaya Police.

A tourist guide from Sohra in Meghalaya, who alerted police about the presence of three men accompanying Raja and Sonam on the day they went missing, on Tuesday claimed that he identified one of the suspects after seeing some photographs.

Albert Pde, the guide at Mawlakhiat told PTI, "I could identify one of the suspects from the photos provided by police." The autopsy report of Raja Raghuvanshi indicated that he was hit twice with a sharp object on his head, officials at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) said.

"The autopsy report indicated there were two sharp cuts on the head of the deceased — one from behind and one from the front," East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said.

Raj Kushwaha's mother, Chunni Devi, claimed that her son was innocent and was implicated in the case. She said Raj had cried inconsolably after attending Raja Raghuvanshi's funeral in Indore.

She said her son had been working at the business establishment owned by Sonam's family for the last two years.

Raj's sister Suhani rejected reports that her brother was romantically involved with Sonam, stressing that they used to address each other as brother and sister.

"My brother and Sonam only shared the employee-employer relationship. He addressed Sonam as 'didi', while she calls him 'bhaiya'," Suhani added.

A viral video showed Raj comforting Sonam's father, Devi Singh Raghuvanshi, who reached the house of Raja before the funeral.

On the other hand, Raja's father Ashok Raghuvanshi demanded the death penalty for all culprits.

Raja's mother Uma said initially they didn't believe Sonam could get her son killed, but gradually became convinced about her possible involvement.

"If Sonam liked another boy, why didn't she refuse to marry Raja? Why did she kill my son?" Uma asked, pointing out that Sonam planned to visit Meghalaya.

Sonam's mother, Sangeeta, claimed false allegations were raised against her daughter.

"I cannot say right now what might have happened to Raja Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya?", she said and demanded a detailed investigation into the murder case.