Raja Raghuwanshi Murder Case:
Sonam Raghuwanshi didn’t want to simply murder her newlywed husband, Raja; she aimed to stage his death as a 'selfie accident' that would seem like a mere tragedy. According to the plan, Raja would be pushed off a cliff to make the incident appear accidental. However, on May 22nd, bad weather thwarted the plan. Consequently, the date for the staged accident was moved to May 23rd, and this time, contract killers were tasked with the job.
The story reached a heart-wrenching moment during the investigation when everyone was left stunned by a scene that could pierce any heart. This was a bizarre tableau that illustrated how a part of humanity might still be alive. In that scene was a mother grieving the loss of her young son, and a brother whose sister had devastated that mother’s world. This moment was especially poignant because both the bereaved mother and the brother, whose sister was involved in the killing, were seen embracing each other, crying profusely.
We salute the courage of this brother, who, despite knowing his sister Sonam had cruelly extinguished the light of her house, showed immense bravery. He went to Raja Raghuwanshi’s home, met with Raja’s mother, and vowed to bring his sister, Sonam, to justice.
On June 9th, Sonam's brother, Govind, personally reached Raja Raghuwanshi’s house. Until June 8th, Raja's family and relatives had been fervently searching for Sonam and praying for her safe return. However, upon learning the horrifying truth about Sonam, they tore and burned her pictures in anger. Despite this known animosity, Govind reached his sister’s in-laws, apologized to them, and wept with Raja’s mother.
Raja’s family understands that Govind is a good brother who knew nothing of his sister’s conspiracy. Govind and Raja’s brother had tirelessly searched for Sonam and Raja in Meghalaya. On the night of June 9th, Govind received a call from Sonam assuring him she was alive.
Imagine the emotional turmoil faced by this brother entering a house with the burden of his sister’s crimes, feeling like a criminal without committing any crime. Meanwhile, his sister Sonam had resolved to wipe away her new-found joy in the form of Raja even before filling her parting hair with the auspicious vermillion of his name. Before her marriage, Sonam had decided that under any circumstances, Raja had to die. Sonam’s sinister plot was fully uncovered when her lover Raj Kushwaha and the hired killers confessed before the Indore police.
Source: aajtak
The Whole Sinister Plot
After marrying Raja Raghuwanshi, Sonam wanted to murder him in a way that his death would seem accidental. She meticulously planned this with Raj Kushwaha, researching ways on Google and reading about different places. Together, they decided to make his death appear as a 'selfie accident', particularly focusing on Meghalaya's rainy and rugged terrain with steep cliffs. The plan was that during a visit to Cherrapunji, Sonam would take a selfie with Raja standing by a cliff and push him over under the guise of a selfie accident. Several tragic incidents during such selfie sessions have occurred around the country where lives were lost. Raja’s death would also be considered an accident if he fell from the cliff.
What if Raja survived the fall? For this, Sonam and Raj devised Plan B. Plan B involved three contract killers finishing off the job with sharp weapons at a secluded spot. After finalizing this plan, Sonam and Raja arrived in Meghalaya on May 21st. The first date set for Raja’s demise was May 22nd. The hired killers were already informed and present in Meghalaya. However, Sonam had to carry out the first attempt.
On the afternoon of May 22nd, Sonam and Raja took a scooter through different locales of Cherrapunji according to the plan. The hired killers were tailing them. Eventually, Sonam found a deserted selfie spot, thinking it would be the perfect place to execute her plan. However, Raja’s luck prevailed. Torrential rains thwarted the operation at the critical moment, leaving Sonam no choice but to abandon her plan temporarily, granted the technical flaws of taking pictures in poor light and risking her phone from rain damage. Thus, the first attempt on May 22nd failed.
Raja planned to return to Indore from Meghalaya two days later, sharing this on a call with his mother. Sonam knew of his plans to return. Perhaps Raja might have left Meghalaya by May 24th. Therefore, after the failed attempt on May 22nd, Sonam had only one day left—May 23rd—to complete her deadly mission.
On the afternoon of May 23rd, following the scheme, Sonam lured Raja to a secluded place heavily unnoticed, requiring them to amble 3000 steps. Despite lacking steep cliffs to push Raja, the situation was befriended by the contract killers under the guise of camaraderie. This was Sonam’s last opportunity. Opting against a selfie accident, Sonam signaled the hired killers to act, leading to Raja’s murder with sharp weapons.
Why was Sonam so bent on portraying Raja’s death as an accident? This was another facet of the plot. Sonam and Raj’s brilliant plan involved making the accident seem authentic during the honeymoon. If Raja slipped and succumbed to a selfie mishap, suspicion wouldn’t fall on Sonam. They would believe it an unfortunate accident. Subsequently, Sonam was to play the grieving widow for a time, eventually broaching her desire to remarry Raj subtly among her family. A young daughter’s widowhood might have swayed the family to concede. However, their whole sinister conspiracy unraveled, and now Sonam, along with Raj and the three contracted killers, are detained by the Meghalaya police.
Meanwhile, five different accused have been transported to Meghalaya from Indore and Ghazipur. They were presented in court on Wednesday. Meghalaya police requested their custody, affirming possession of substantial evidence linking them to Raja’s murder. Later, the court remanded Sonam, Raj, and the hired killers to police custody.
The Meghalaya police reiterated having impregnable technical, forensic, and circumstantial evidence against the accused, ensuring their conviction in court. Currently, the Meghalaya police are interrogating the five accused. The sharp weapon murder weapon has been recovered by the police. Also, movements of Sonam and the contracted killers from Indore to Guwahati and then Meghalaya have been evidenced. Whatever’s missing is expected to be pieced together before their police custody ends.
In conclusion, the Meghalaya police has unraveled the Raja Raghuwanshi murder mystery entirely. All five accused are in 8-day police custody. Following the first-day interrogation, East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem made sensational disclosures. In a press conference, SP revealed that Raj Kushwaha masterminded the murder, with Sonam as his partner. All accused have confessed to their crimes, driven by an affair and familial pressure—not a monetary contract, but a friendship agreement among the three other culprits participating.
SP Vivek Syiem disclosed that Raj plotted the murder as early as May 2025, preceding Sonam’s marriage by just 11 days. By February 2025, Raj and Sonam formulated two alternative plans: Sonam disappearing as though swept away by a river, or murdering someone else, placing their corpse on Sonam’s scooter, and setting it ablaze to suggest Sonam’s demise. However, those schemes didn’t advance, leading Sonam to an arranged marriage with Raja on May 11th due to family pressure.
The Shillong police chief also noted Sonam and Raj Kushwaha’s affair, although it remains unclear if Sonam’s family knew about it—a facet under investigation. Possibly, Sonam didn’t see any alternative but to murder, as she didn’t desire marriage with Raja.
(Inputs from Dharmendra Sharma and Ravishpal Singh in Indore and Arvind Ojha in Shillong)
