Honeymoon murder: Police say wife sought to stage the killing as robbery gone wrong

When the SIT tracked down the owner of the hotel where the couple stayed, they found this was a lie and that she had eaten there. This revelation raised suspicions, and when the Meghalaya police decided to mount technical surveillance on Sonam, they found that she was in constant touch with Kushwaha, police said.

Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills, Vivek Syiem told The Indian Express, “We found that she had consumed food. We also found that she was in touc h with the main accused, Raj Kushwaha. The plan was to pass this off as a robbery gone wrong.”

Raja and Sonam were reported missing last month during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. Earlier this month, Raja’s body was found, and the search for Sonam was stepped up. On Sunday night, police arrested Kushwaha for allegedly orchestrating Raja’s murder with Sonam’s help. Once he was caught, Sonam surrendered at a police station in Uttar Pradesh.

Investigators in Meghalaya Police told The Indian Express that Sonam allegedly left her home with jewellery and had also asked her husband to carry expensive jewellery with the alleged intention of passing his killing off as a robbery gone wrong.

Syiem said, “This is what our investigation has found. The couple had not booked return flight tickets. They had initially made plans to visit a temple in Guwahati. Then they chose to visit Meghalaya, and this very spot must have been chosen to commit the crime since a tourist recently went missing here and his body was found in the gorge after he suffered a fall. We are still investigating why the Meghalaya trip was planned.”

In April, the body of a Hungarian tourist, who had been missing since March 29 after checking into a Shillong hotel, was found on a steep slope in the East Khasi Hills district.