Raja Raghuvanshi Murder Case: Meghalaya Court Frames Charges Against Sonam, Four Others

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The East Khasi Hills District Court in Meghalaya has framed charges against five people in connection with the murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi.

Those accused include Raja’s wife Sonam Raghuvanshi, her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and three others — Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi.

The court recently framed charges under Sections 103(1) (murder), 238 (a) (disappearance of evidence) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS. Earlier, police had filed a 790 page chargesheet in the Sohra Sub-Division Judicial Magistrate First Class Court on September 5.

It was found that there is enough preliminary evidence to move forward with the trial against all five accused. However, the defence continues to claim innocence. Notably, all five have applied for bail five times in lower courts, but each plea has been denied.

Meanwhile, police are also preparing to submit a second chargesheet against three more accused Silom James, Lokendra Tomar and Balbir Ahirwar for allegedly helping destroy evidence in the case.

Honeymoon murder

Raja Raghuvanshi, a transport businessman from Indore, went to Shillong with his wife Sonam on May 21 for their honeymoon. Two days later, on May 23, Raja went missing.

The police and other agencies started a search for him and found his decomposed body in a deep gorge with multiple stab wounds on June 2. Sonam initially disappeared but later surrendered in Ghazipur district in UP.

During the investigation, the Meghalaya police with the help of the Indore crime branch arrested Raj, Akash, Anand and Vishal. The investigation showed that Sonam was in a relationship with Raj Kushwaha.

She allegedly lured her husband to a secluded spot under the pretext of sightseeing, where Raj and his associates allegedly followed and killed him with knives. Police had also recovered a weapon from the forest.