This is an archive article published on June 9, 2025
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Twist in Indore man’s murder during Meghalaya honeymoon; police say wife Sonam hired killers, arrested
Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder Case: Honeymooner Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found along with a murder weapon from inside a gorge around a week ago
The wife, Sonam, surrendered before the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, while three other assailants were arrested in overnight raids. (File photo)
Meghalaya Murder Case Update: Eighteen days after a couple from Madhya Pradesh went missing while on their honeymoon in Meghalaya – and a week after the husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found along with a murder weapon – three assailants from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested and the wife, Sonam, has surrendered before the police.
This was confirmed by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in a post on Monday morning: “Within 7 days, a major breakthrough has been achieved by the Meghalaya Police in the Raja murder case… 3 assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested, female has surrendered, and the operation is still on to catch one more assailant.”
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Meghalaya DGP Idashisha Nongrang said that Sonam had allegedly hired men to murder her husband. She surrendered in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district on Sunday.
“One person was picked up from UP, and another two accused were apprehended from Indore by the SIT. The arrested accused have named some more persons. They revealed that the victim’s wife had hired them… Sonam surrendered at the Nandganj police station in UP, and was subsequently arrested,” the DGP was quoted as saying by PTI.
Akash Rajput (19) was arrested in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh. Vishal Singh Chauhan (22) and Raj Singh Kushwaha (21) were arrested from Indore. And a short while ago, another person Anand Kurmi (23) has been arrested from Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district
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The couple, who had married just last month, were reported missing while they were travelling in Sohra in Meghalaya during their honeymoon.
Their family members reached Meghalaya after they couldn’t reach them on the phone, and a massive search operation was launched involving the police, SDRF, NDRF, SOT and drones. Eventually, Raja’s body was found last Monday and retrieved from a gorge below Wei Sawdong Falls. A police drone spotted it.
The retrieval of his body, as well as the recovery of a dao (local cutting tool), which police identified as a murder weapon, gave a new turn to this case. The police had constituted an SIT led by SP (City) East Khasi Hills Herbert Pynniaid Kharkongor to investigate the alleged murder.
While Sonam had been missing until she surrendered, police had slowly been picking up on a trail of clues, including CCTV footage from the various areas the couple stopped.
The wife, Sonam, surrendered before the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, while three other assailants were arrested in overnight raids. (File photo) 
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