'Sonam's phones must have been destroyed somewhere on the way, but we cannot confirm it until we start questioning her.'
The Meghalaya police have got an eight-day remand of Sonam Raghuvanshi and four others in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case.
Besides Sonam, the four others are Raj Khushwaha, her alleged lover; Akash Rajput; Vishal Singh Chauhan; Anand Kumar.
Herbert Pyniaid Kharkongor, the Shillong city superintendent of police who is heading the special investigating team in the case, told this correspondent that analysis of "technical data" and preliminary inquiry led them to the accused.
When asked to elaborate, Kharkongor said, "We are still investigating the case and have just got the remand. So, I cannot divulge details about the evidence."
The mobile phones of the four accused men, all in their twenties, have been confiscated. Earlier, Sonam's brother told this correspondent that she had two phones. But the police have not found the devices. The data from other phones is being analysed.
According to Additional SP Ashish, "Sonam's phones must have been destroyed somewhere on the way, but we cannot confirm it until we start questioning her."
Sonam and the four others were produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate (First Class) D D K Mihsil, on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the police said they would seek 10 days of remand.
The five accused will be taken to Sohra, where Raja's murder case was lodged, after a few days.
The formal probing of the accused will begin on June 12. The police are calling this Operation Honeymoon.
A white shirt was found near Raja Raghuvanshi's body at Wei Sawdong, Sohra, on June 2. When asked about the evidence, Kharkongor said there were blood stains, but the forensic report on this is yet to arrive.
There was also circumstantial evidence that pointed to the accused. The police will "further investigate and question the accused to substantiate those".
So far, the charges against Sonam are murder (Section 302), causing disappearance of evidence (Section 201) and causing communal disharmony (Section 153A). "We may press other charges during the investigation," said Kharkongor.
Raja was on his honeymoon with his bride Sonam Raghuvanshi to the northeastern state in May. Both had been reported missing earlier during the trip.
His body was discovered in a gorge near Sohra, close to Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, on June 2.
Sonam, surfaced in Ghazipur, UP, on June 9 and was arrested by the police on suspicion of murdering her husband.
Media misinformation creates confusion
Meanwhile, East Khasi Hills SP, Vivek Syiem, refused to meet media-persons on Wednesday following alleged media misinformation, especially by some Hindi media houses.
On Tuesday, Syiem said (external link) Sonam was in constant communication with Raj even after marriage.
But it is not clear whether she shared her live location on the day of the murder. 'It is a fact that she was in touch with Raj that day (May 23), and the latter was in touch with the three assailants,' he added.
On May 23, Sonam changed local taxis several times to reach Guwahati. There were some media reports about Sonam taking a train to Siliguri from Guwahati, from where she went to Indore. However, Indore police said the information was incorrect.
When asked about the fake news circulating on social media, Kharkongor said the police are keeping an eye on it and "certain FIRs have been taken up" in this regard.
"This social media frenzy," informed Ashish," does not particularly affect the investigation."
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