Meghalaya police get 7-day transit remand of 3 men held in Raja Raghuvanshi murder case

Indore: Three people arrested in the murder case of Indore transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi were on Monday produced in a district court here which sent them to the transit custody of the Meghalaya police for seven days, a police official said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia told PTI that the Meghalaya police arrested the trio, Raj Kushwah, Vishal Chauhan and Akash Rajput, and produced them before a Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Indore, days after the murder in the north-eastern state.

Dandotia said before being produced before the CJM, the three accused were medically examined at a government hospital in the city.

He said, "The Meghalaya police will take the three people with them on the basis of transit custody and will question them in detail. We have come to know that these accused know each other before. Two of these accused are friends of Raj Kushwah." The trio was caught in a joint operation conducted by Indore and Meghalaya police on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday. Two of them were arrested from Indore, while the third person was taken into custody from near this city in Madhya Pradesh, informed the IPS officer.

Dandotiya said, "Based on the facts found during investigation and interrogation, the Meghalaya police arrested all three people." Another suspect in the murder case, identified only as Anand, has been detained from Bina in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

According to the Meghalaya police, Raja Raghuvanshi's wife Sonam (25), allegedly involved in the murder of her husband, surrendered before the Nandganj Police Station in Ghazipur district in adjoining Uttar Pradesh and was later placed under arrest.

Sonam Raghuvanshi had allegedly hired killers to get rid of her husband during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, just days after their marriage in Indore, they said.

Asked about Sonam Raghuvanshi's contact with the four people who are under the scanner of the Meghalaya police, Dandotia did not provide any information and said "The Meghalaya Police are conducting a detailed investigation into this matter." Officials said Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, who had gone to Meghalaya for their honeymoon, went missing on May 23.

They said Raja Raghuvanshi's body was found in a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra area (also known as Cherrapunji) of East Khasi Hills district on June 2.

Raja Raghuvanshi, whose family is involved in transport business, got married to Sonam on May 11 in Indore and they left for Meghalaya on May 20.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya police is handling the case, which was drawn nationwide attention.