Honeymoon murder: Raj Kushwaha and 3 other accused knew each other well

 

 

RAJ Kushwaha, who allegedly plotted the murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi with the latter’s wife Sonam during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, and three other men hired for executing the crime knew each other since the past, police officials said. Indore Police also claimed Kushwaha, the suspected boyfriend of Sonam, didn’t travel to the north-eastern State to avoid suspicion and went about his daily routine. Kushwaha and three other accused are currently in the transit custody of Meghalaya Police. According to police, Sonam Raghuvanshi allegedly orchestrated the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in the scenic town of Sohra in Meghalaya. 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.” “I am happy that the criminals are finally behind bars. We stand vindicated. Those who tried to tarnish the image of Sohra and its people as violent have now been exposed,” Pde added. 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. Meghalaya Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) has availed a transit remand for Sonam and they are bringing her to Shillong where she will be produced in court.

 

Earlier in the day, the Meghalaya police produced Anand Kurmi before the court which sent him on seven-day transit remand, Indore’s Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia 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. “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 after my husband passed away,” Chunni Devi told PTI. 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. Politicians and common people from Meghalaya have expressed unhappiness over the portrayal of the north-eastern State by media in the wake of the murder. 

 

 

THE father of honeymooner Raja Raghuvanshi on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for all culprits. “My son died in agony. All the culprits should be hanged to set an example, so that no family loses its son to such crime in future,” Raghuvanshi’s father Ashok Raghuvanshi told PTI. Overwhelmed by the tragedy and sordid details emerging during the investigation, the Raghuvanshi senior expressed disbelief over his newly-wed son returning the family’s Indore home in a coffin. “My son’s body was mutilated. My family members didn’t allow me to have the last glimpse as they were concerned over my heart ailment”, he said, struggling to maintain his composure. Raghuvanshi also claimed that Sonam got her husband murdered to remove the ‘Mangal Dosh’ in her horoscope so that she could later marry her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha, who worked in the furniture sheet business of Sonam’s family in Indore. Dismissing this claim, local astrologer Dheeraj Dixit said “mangal dosh” cannot be removed by the death of one’s spouse.