Honeymoon Murder: SIT completes interrogation of prime accused duo
Shillong, June 21: After expiry of 10 days’ police custody of the two prime accused in Raja Raghuvanshi murder case – Sonam Raghuvanshi and her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha – they have been remanded in 13 days’ judicial custody.
“The accused (Sonam and Raj) were produced today before the court as police custody is over. Both the accused were sent to 13 days judicial custody,” assistant public prosecutor Tushar Chanda told reporters after coming out of the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CMJ) on Saturday.
The special investigation team (SIT), which completed ten days of interrogation of the duo, did not seek extension of their custody any further.
“They (police) just prayed for judicial custody and after hearing, court granted for 13 days judicial custody for both the accused,” he added.
According to Chanda, from the defence party, no legal aid was present during the hearing.
Earlier, the court granted judicial custody for three other accused – Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand Kurmi – while extending police custody of Sonam and Raj for two more days.
The SIT entrusted with the investigation completed reconstruction of the crime scene at Sohra and also recovered a second machete, suspected to be used in the murder, from near Wei Sawdong Falls. The first machete was found near Raja’s body on June 2.
Meanwhile, another Meghalaya police team interrogated family members of Sonam at the latter’s parental house in Indore. The police team also visited the office of Sonam’s brother Govind and the family-owned plywood factory as part of the probe.
The investigation has since expanded to multiple locations, including Varanasi, where Sonam reportedly travelled under suspicious circumstances. Police have also taken statement of Ujala Yadav, a resident to Ghazipur, who claimed to have seen Sonam at the Varanasi bus terminal accompanied by two unidentified men and later sat beside her on a Gorakhpur-bound bus.
The investigation gained momentum on June 8–9, when four accused — Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi — were arrested from various locations across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Sonam surrendered on June 9 at Nandganj police station in Ghazipur. All five accused were brought to Shillong on June 11 and initially remanded in police custody for eight days.
