Four men accused of killing Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi have confessed to the crime, the Indore Crime Branch said on Tuesday. According to ACP Poonam Chand Yadav, who spoke exclusively to India Today TV, the accused not only admitted to carrying out the murder but also revealed that Raja’s wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, was present at the scene and “watched her husband die.”
“All four accused have confessed to killing Raja Raghuvanshi,” Yadav said. “The first blow was struck by Vishal alias Vicky Thakur.”
During the interrogation, the accused revealed how the group attacked Raja Raghuvanshi and later threw his body into a deep gorge.
As per the Crime Branch’s investigation, three of the accused, Vishal, Akash, and Anand, left Indore by train. They changed several trains to reach Meghalaya, first going to Guwahati and then on to Shillong, ACP Yadav explained.
Raj Kushwaha, who is alleged to be Sonam’s lover and co-conspirator, stayed behind in Indore but is alleged to have financially supported the three with Rs 40,000-50,000 each for their travel expenses.
The accused told the police that Sonam was present on the spot when Raja was killed and watched on.
What remains unclear is whether Sonam stayed back in Meghalaya after the killing or returned to Indore. “That detail is yet to be confirmed by Meghalaya Police,” ACP Yadav noted.
ABOUT THE CASE
Raja Raghuvanshi had married Sonam on May 10 in Indore. Just days later, the couple arrived in Shillong for their honeymoon. On May 21, the couple hired a scooter to visit the scenic Sohra region. They went missing the following day. On June 2, Raja’s decomposed body was recovered from a gorge near Cherrapunji, bearing multiple sharp injuries, including two fatal head wounds.
The case took a dramatic turn when Sonam surrendered at a dhaba in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district on June 9. Though her father has maintained her innocence and accused police of “fabricating stories,” the accused have now confessed to Sonam’s presence during the killing.
Sonam was allegedly in constant contact with Raj Kushwaha over the phone throughout the trip, raising suspicion of an ongoing affair and a joint conspiracy to kill Raja.