Meghalaya Police Grills Accused In ‘Operation Honeymoon’ Murder Case, Including Prime Suspect Sonam Raghuvanshi

Meghalaya Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Wednesday interrogated Sonam Raghuvanshi and four other accused in the high-profile murder case of Raja Raghuvanshi at the Sadar Police Station in Shillong.

All five were questioned ahead of their scheduled court appearance.

Sonam, who allegedly plotted the murder of her husband during their honeymoon, was brought to Shillong under heavy security on Tuesday night. She is expected to be produced in court on Wednesday.

Sonam surrendered to the police in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, on 7 June. From there, she was taken by road to Patna, flown to Kolkata, and then to Guwahati.

Upon her arrival in Guwahati, she was discreetly escorted out of the airport through the cargo gate and brought to Sadar Police Station, Shillong.

A mandatory medical check-up was conducted at Ganesh Das Hospital before she was held in custody overnight.

East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, Vivek Syiem, confirmed that the police had secured six days of transit remand for the accused arrested in Madhya Pradesh and three days for those held in Uttar Pradesh.

“All accused are being brought to Shillong separately and will be produced in court,” he stated.

The four other accused – Raj Kushwaha, allegedly Sonam’s lover and the mastermind behind the killing, along with Anand Kurmi, Akash Rajput, and Vishal Singh Chauhan – were transported to Meghalaya earlier in the day. They will remain in custody pending further legal proceedings.

Public outrage at Indore airport

Tensions flared at Indore airport as police escorted the accused. A member of the public, visibly angered by the crime, slapped one of the masked suspects.

Authorities have not disclosed which of the accused was attacked.

Sonam and Raja got married on 11 May. On 20 May, they left for their honeymoon in Meghalaya with a one-way ticket. By 23 May, the couple had gone missing.

A widespread search was launched, culminating in the discovery of Raja’s body in a deep gorge on 4 June. The chilling revelation, however, shocked the nation.

Meghalaya Police launched a 20-member task force under ‘Operation Honeymoon’ to track down the suspects.

The operation led to the arrest of all five accused, who will now undergo further investigation under Meghalaya Police jurisdiction.

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