Chief minister Conrad Sangma said the Police achieved the breakthrough in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case with the arrest of 3 assailants from Madhya Pradesh
The “missing” wife of a newlywed man from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, whose body was found in a gorge near the Weisawdong Falls in Meghalaya on Monday last, has surrendered in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, while three assassins she allegedly hired have been arrested after days of multiple-agency search involving the combing of a rugged and forested terrain in the northeastern state.
Chief minister Conrad Sangma said the Meghalaya Police achieved the breakthrough in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case within seven days with the arrest of three assailants from Madhya Pradesh and the surrender of Sonam. In a post on X, he added that the operation was on to catch one more assailant.
People aware of the matter said Sonam Raghuvanshi was found in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, where she surrendered.
Press Trust of India quoted Meghalaya Police chief I Nongrang saying Sonam hired the killers. “One person was picked up from UP [Uttar Pradesh], and another two accused were apprehended from Indore…”
How the plot unravelled
Investigators found a fresh clue in the case on Saturday when a trekking guide told police that he saw Sonam and Raghuvanshi with three unidentified men the day he was last seen amid a search operation and demands for a federal probe. The guide said Raghuvanshi was walking with the three men, while Sonam followed slowly. He said he met the couple and asked if they needed a guide.
The couple, who were in Meghalaya for their honeymoon, went missing on May 23 from Sohra, around 50 km from the state capital, Shillong.
Investigators on Tuesday last recovered a smashed mobile phone and a machete from the gorge, where Raghuvanshi’s body was found, even as police struggled for a breakthrough despite an aerial operation to trace Sonam. Raghuvanshi’s body was found after a drone spotted it.
The Meghalaya Police, fire and emergency services, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force, dog squads, and West Jaiñtia Hills Adventurers and Mountaineering Association volunteers were pressed into the search operation.
An investigator said the machete recovered did not resemble the ones traditionally used in Meghalaya. The handle of the machete was covered in plastic, not wood, which is uncommon for locally crafted sharp tools.
The machete was sent for forensic examination to ascertain if it was used in the killing of Raghuvanshi, as police registered a homicide case and described Sonam’s disappearance as inexplicable and unusual.
Police suspected foul play and believed Raghuvanshi’s death was not an accident. A Special Investigation Team was constituted to probe the case.
The scooter the couple rented was found abandoned in Sohrarim, about 25 km from the gorge, with the key in the ignition amid heavy rainfall and strong winds.
A white shirt, medicine, part of a phone screen, and a smartwatch were recovered from the gorge along with Raghuvanshi’s body, which was identified by a tattoo on his right hand reading “Raja”.
Sangma monitored the investigation and search operations. Shankar Lalwani, the member of Parliament from Indore, and Rajya Sabha member Sumer Singh Solanki, visited Shillong and met state officials overseeing the progress in resolving the case.
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