Police investigation reveals Raj as ‘mastermind’ behind murder of Indore tourist by his 3 friends, Sonam a partner to the crime: EKH SP

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 12, 2025

Police investigation has established that Raj Kushwaha was the “mastermind” behind the recent murder of his girlfriend Sonam Raghuvanshi’s husband (L) Raja Raghuvanshi, a resident of Indore, at Sohra. 

The first day of interrogation revealed that the plan to murder was hatched even before Sonam’s marriage to Raja and the three assailants are not contract killers but are good friends of Raj. 

“Sonam has admitted her complicity out here. This whole thing had happened right from Indore just before her marriage to Raja it was hatched and the mastermind of this is Raj. Sonam played along with this plan and she was a partner of this plan,” East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said on Thursday while sharing details of the ongoing interrogation against Sonam, Raj and three assailants – Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand Kurmi – by the special investigation team (SIT) after they were remanded to 8 days police custody by a court in Shillong. 

He said that the three young people were friends and one of them is a cousin of Raj adding “It was not a kind of contract killing which they planned. Yes, the plan was to kill but it was done as a favour to their friend Raj.” 

Investigation further revealed that the accused persons had made several failed attempts till they were successful in eliminating Raja at Weisawdong on May 23.

“Actually right from the month of February in Indore, they had thought of ways where Sonam would disappear and probably after disappearing one instance was to make her get washed by a river. Another instance was murder somebody, put her in her scooty, burn that person’s body and claim that it is Sonam’s but all these things did not fructify,” Syiem said.

“So when Raja and Sonam got married and they came for darshan to Kamakhya, the other group had also come here. In fact, the group of three people had come few days before on May 19 and they had plans to eliminate Raja somewhere in Guwahati. Since it didn’t fructify there also, Sonam made a plan to come to Shillong and Sohra and that’s how this thing pan out whereby they met in Nongriat and from Nongriat, they came out together and on their way to Weisawdong, Raja while all of them were there inside the parking lot, all of the three assailants – one by one they had hacked him. She was there and the body was thrown. This happened between 2 – 2.18 pm. At about 2.18 pm they all left that place,” he added.

(L) Raja’s highly decomposed body was recovered from a deep gorge at Weisawdong on June 2.

Stating that it is clear case of love affairs, Syiem said, “Raj is the mastermind. These are friends of his and they wanted to get rid of him in various places. I want to tell you infact they first wanted to get rid of him somewhere in Guwahati but it did not materialised, they wanted to eliminate him in Nongriat but they didn’t find a place to dispose the body, they wanted to do it in between Mawlakhiat and Weisawdong when Raja went to attend nature’s call but that also didn’t fructify, finally they did it in Weisawdong.”

Syiem said that the raincoat which Sonam was wearing, she had given it to Akash as his shirt had a blood spot. 

“In fact, one of the scooties was driven by Sonam when they left Weisawdong. When they reached Evi point, Akash got down there to throw the raincoat because it has blood stains. When it was recovered, we were not sure whether it was stained by blood or other material but now we have confirmed that it is blood stains and we are sending it for forensics,”he stated.

He said thereafter, Akash took over the scooty and Sonam became the pillion rider. Anand Kurmi drove the bike which Sonam and Raja had hired and left it in Sohra Rim and from thereon just after Lad Mawphlang (police are trying to ascertain which place) she boarded a taxi and Vicky who is Vishal Chauhan had given her a burqa, which Raj has given to him. Sonam wore this burqa came to Police Bazaar, took a tourist down to Guwahati and in Guwahati she went to ISBT took a bus to Siliguri and then changed a bus to Patna and then from Patna took a bus to Arrah and then took a train to Lucknow and from Lucknow took a bus to Indore. 

Following the reports on the tourist guide’s revelation about the Indore couple were accompanied by the three assailants, Syiem said that Raj had told Sonam better leave Indore and come out somewhere in Siliguri and resurface there as a victim of abduction. 

When Sonam was supposed to leave Indore for Siliguri on June 8, the two team of Meghalaya made their first arrest of Akash at Uttar Pradesh. Raj came to know about this but he was not sure that they were police team.

“They were hoping nobody would find that body as it is very far away and she would have played to be victim and probably she must have thought enquiry will take one-two months and body will be decomposed and we will not know. So she plays the victim card,” the SP said.

Asked, Syiem said that Sonam had claimed that she was forced to marry Raja and that was the reason that led to his murder.

Stating that the financial or property angle will also be investigated, he however said not much money was paid to the three assailants since they were friends. 

“Raj had given them Rs 50000 for the expenditures out here. It has not come out as of now whether any consideration was there considering Raj’s financial background as he coming from poor family background but we will see if there is a financial or property angle to this,” the SP stated.

Further, the SP said after getting proper facts of the matter from all the accused persons, police will gather evidence and then take them to Sohra for the reconstruction of the crime scene. 

He also expressed confidence to be able to file chargesheet before 90 days.

Asked, Syiem said murder was not in police mind because Sohra is a peaceful place and no such incident has happened to any tourist before.

“We have trekkers who are lost, of course we had one incident where a trekker got lost and died – so murder was not in our mind first as that place was very tourist friendly, people are very helpful. 

When we found the body we realised it is not a suicide case,”he added.