Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused in husband Raja’s murder during their honeymoon, fled in disguise across states, police say her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha masterminded the brutal killing.
In a chilling murder case that has gripped the nation, police have revealed that Sonam Raghuvanshi, the wife of deceased Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, went on the run disguised in a burqa after allegedly conspiring in her husband’s murder. Her escape trail — spanning multiple states — was marked by taxis, buses, and trains as she evaded capture before surrendering in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur.
According to East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem, the murder plot was orchestrated by alleged Sonam’s ‘lover’, Raj Kushwaha, who is believed to be the mastermind. Sonam is being treated as a co-conspirator. The plan, hatched in Indore before the couple’s May 11 wedding, involved luring Raja to Meghalaya under the guise of a honeymoon. Days later, he was brutally murdered.
After reaching Sohra (Cherrapunjee) in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills on May 23, Raja and Sonam were reported missing. Raja’s body was eventually found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on June 2. Investigations revealed that he was reportedly attacked with a machete and killed in Sonam’s presence by three men — Vishal, Akash and Anand — friends of Raj who allegedly carried out the killing as a favour, not as hired assassins. Raj had reportedly given them Rs 50,000 for expenses, as reported by PTI.
The killers left behind key evidence, including a bloodstained raincoat and the scooter hired by the couple. Police say Sonam handed her raincoat to one of the killers, Akash, to cover up a bloodstain on his shirt. Both the coat and the scooter were later recovered.
After the murder, Sonam slipped into a burqa given to her by Raj through Vishal. She travelled to Police Bazaar in Shillong and took a taxi to Guwahati. From there, she boarded a bus to Siliguri in West Bengal, and then continued her journey via buses to Patna and Arah in Bihar. She later took a train to Lucknow and finally reached Indore by bus — roughly 1,200 kilometers from the crime scene.
During this time, the killers and Sonam had plans to cover up her involvement. One idea was to fake her death by murdering a random woman, burning the body, and passing it off as Sonam’s to buy time. Another plan involved claiming she had drowned. However, none of these efforts materialised.
Raj, sensing the heat as police from Meghalaya arrived in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on June 8, instructed Sonam to stage an abduction and inform her family she had escaped from a gang. However, by June 9, Sonam surrendered to the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur.
The police have since arrested Raj Kushwaha, Sonam and the three accomplices. All five have been remanded to eight days of police custody. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is now collaborating with law enforcement agencies across multiple states to tie together all evidence.