Three mothers grieve after Indore couple's honeymoon turns deadly

'I didn't know that my son would return from Meghalaya as a dead body,' Uma Raghuvanshi said while crying inconsolably and recalling the warm send-off the day the couple left, little knowing that it would turn into a tragic farewell.

Indore: What began as a dreamy honeymoon for an Indore-based couple in Meghalaya has unravelled into a sordid saga of murder and betrayal, leaving three families heartbroken.

The shocking death of 29-year-old Indore transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi has ripped open a dark secret, plunging three mothers into unimaginable grief.

As Meghalaya Police peel the layers of this horrific crime, the narrative points to a "murder of trust" within the most intimate of relationships.

According to Meghalaya Police, Sonam was allegedly involved in the conspiracy to murder her husband Raja Raghuvanshi with her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha. The duo had hired three killers to execute the plan.

Uma Raghuvanshi stands by her son Raja's garlanded photograph, her face a mask of grief and bewildered anger.

"Initially, we couldn't believe that my daughter-in-law Sonam could get my son Raja killed," she told PTI, her voice trembling. "But we are slowly starting to believe it now."

The questions that haunt her is, "If Sonam liked another boy, why didn't she refuse to marry Raja? Why did she kill my son?"

The two got married on May 11 and left for honeymoon on May 20. During the probe, it emerged that Sonam herself had planned the trip to Meghalaya.

"I didn't know that my son would return from Meghalaya as a dead body," Uma said while crying inconsolably and recalling the warm send-off the day the couple left, little knowing that it would turn into a tragic farewell.

The family was completely unaware of Raj Kushwaha's existence before the Meghalaya Police investigated the case.

Miles away from Raja's residence, in a small rented house in Indore, Raj Kushwaha's mother, Chunni Devi, is also inconsolable, along with her three daughters.

"My son is innocent. He has been framed. How can a 20-year-old boy commit such a big crime? He is the only breadwinner in our house after my husband passed away," she told PTI.

She also claimed that her son even attended Raja Raghuvanshi's funeral procession and returned home in tears.

"My son was saddened by Raja Raghuvanshi's death and even went to his funeral procession. After returning from the funeral procession, he was crying a lot. I had consoled him that everything will be fine and what is the use of crying now," the mother of the alleged main conspirator said.

Sonam's maternal home in Indore's Govind Nagar Kharcha area is in a different kind of shock.

Her family runs a business dealing in Sunmica sheets, where Raj Kushwaha, a 12th-grade dropout, worked as an accountant.

Sonam's mother, Sangeeta, was reluctant to speak to the media.

"False allegations are being made against my daughter. I cannot say right now what might have happened to Raja Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya?" she muttered.

The mother of Sonam, the alleged main accused, demanded that there should be a detailed investigation into the murder of her son-in-law.

Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam were reported missing on May 23 and days later, the body of the newlywed groom was discovered on June 2 in a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra, also known as Cherrapunji, in the East Khasi Hills district.

Sonam surrendered to the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district, while Raj Kushwaha and three other accused were apprehended in various parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Meghalaya Police is probing every detail of this case. However, for the three mothers whose lives have been irrevocably shattered, the tears continue to flow.