Raja Raghuvanshi murder case: Meghalaya court frames charges against five accused

Shillong, Oct 29 (PTI) A court in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district has framed charges against five accused in the murder case of Raja Raghuvanshi, who was hacked to death in May allegedly by three hitmen in the state, where the Madhya Pradesh businessman came with his wife for their honeymoon.

The five accused are Raghuvanshi’s wife Sonam, her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and the three hitmen - Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi - who had come from Madhya Pradesh to kill the businessman. All of them denied the allegations against them.

On Tuesday, the court formally framed charges under Sections 103(1) (murder), 238 (a) (disappearance of evidence) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to police, Raja Raghuvanshi of Indore and his wife Sonam travelled to Shillong on May 21 before heading to Sohra.

On May 26, the couple was reported missing, prompting a massive search operation by Sohra police, the Special Operations Team, NDRF, SDRF, trekking groups and locals.

After days of intensive search, the body of Raja was recovered on June 2 from a deep gorge at a place near the famous Wei Sawdong falls in Sohra. A case was registered at Sohra police station in this regard.

Investigators found that Sonam was in a relationship with Raj Kushwaha.

The duo, along with three hired assailants, allegedly conspired to eliminate Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon.

The killing was carried out by the three hitmen in Sonam's presence, police said.

Within a week of the probe, the five accused, including Sonam, were arrested.

Police submitted a 790-page chargesheet before the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Sohra Sub-Division, on September 5.

During the framing of charges on Tuesday, the court observed that, prima facie, there is sufficient evidence to proceed against the five accused.

The defence, however, maintained that the accused were innocent.

The trial is expected to begin shortly.

Meanwhile, the police said they are preparing to file a second charge sheet against the remaining three accused - Silom James, Lokendra Tomar and Balbir Ahirbar. They were arrested for their alleged role in destroying evidence.