Indore: A day after the Meghalaya police filed a thorough chargesheet in the murder of businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, his family is asking for the death punishment for his wife Sonam, who is the main suspect, and four of her accomplices. On Friday, the police submitted a long 790-page document against eight people. It included physical evidence and other documents.
The charges say that Sonam planned with her accused lover, Raj Kushwaha, and three of his friends—Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Singh Rajput, and Anand Kurmi—to assassinate her husband while they were on their honeymoon in Sohra in May of this year. The paper also lists three more people who are suspected. All eight have been charged with criminal conspiracy to kill and destruction of evidence under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“My family has only one demand,” Raja’s older brother Vipin Raghuvanshi told PTI. “That is that all five accused, along with Sonam and Kushwaha, be sentenced to death.” The family hasn’t looked over the full chargesheet yet, but Vipin said he was happy with the police investigation and thought the charges were strong.
There have been a lot of dramatic changes in this high-profile case. Govind, Sonam’s older brother, went to see the victim’s family after Sonam was arrested. He said he had cut relations with his sister and promised to help the Raghuvanshi family get justice. Vipin Raghuvanshi, on the other hand, now says that Govind’s actions were dishonest and meant to safeguard his business. “Govind said he was on our side, but we found out that he had hired a lawyer to defend Sonam,” Vipin added. He said that his family had also hired a lawyer to work on the case.
The police inquiry found that Raja and Sonam went to Shillong on May 21 and then to Sohra for their honeymoon. People reported the pair missing on May 26, which led to a huge search operation involving the Sohra police, the Special Operations Team (SOT), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), trekking groups, and local people. On June 2, the body of Raja Raghuvanshi was ultimately found in a steep gorge in Arliang Riat Kunongrim, which is close to the famous Wei Sawdong waterfall.
Later, investigators found out that Sonam was dating Raj Kushwaha. It is said that the two of them, along with three hired killers, planned the murder. According to the police investigation, Rajput, Chauhan, and Kurmi killed Sonam when she was at the gorge. Within a week of the investigation, the five main suspects, including Sonam, were found and detained in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Under parts of the BNS, they are being charged with murder, hiding evidence, and planning a crime. Later, three other people—Lokendra Tomar, Balla Ahirwar, and Shilom James—were arrested in Gwalior, Shadora, and Dewas for allegedly deleting evidence.
People are still interested in the case because the victim’s family wants the worst penalty possible for the horrible murder.