Sonam offered Rs 20 lakh to Raja's killers: Reports

Sonam Raghuvanshi, who allegedly plotted the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, paid Rs 20 lakh to hitmen after the gruesome murder, according to media reports.

IMAGE: Vishal Chauhan, Raj Kushwaha and Akash Rajput, three of the four accused in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case. Photograph: Indore Police/ANI Photo

According to NDTV, Sonam had offered Rs 4 lakh to contract killers for the murder however she later raised the amount to Rs 20 lakh.

Top police sources told NDTV that Sonam helped the other accused in pushing Raghuvanshi's body into a gorge in Meghalaya.

Another report in Hindustan Times, citing a Meghalaya Police officer, claimed that Sonam initially handed over Rs 15,000 in cash to the assailants, which she had taken directly from her husband's wallet during the crime.

"Raj Kushwaha claims he didn't want to support Sonam and at the last moment, cancelled his plan to go to Meghalaya. He also allegedly asked the three others not to go, but they went to see Meghalaya after Sonam booked the tickets. Even at the last moment, the three refused to kill, but Sonam insisted and said she would give Rs 15 lakh for that. Police are verifying these claims," a senior police officer from Indore told Hindustan Times.

Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam were reported missing on May 23 and days later, the body of the newlywed groom was discovered on June 2 in a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra, also known as Cherrapunji, in the East Khasi Hills district.

Sonam surrendered to the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district, while Raj Kushwaha and three other accused were apprehended in various parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The Special Investigation Team constituted by the Meghalaya Police is probing every detail of this case.

According to the SIT, Sonam took a local taxi to reach Guwahati before boarding a train.

Her accomplices -- the three arrested accused -- also took a tourist taxi to the station in Guwahati where they boarded a train to Indore.

"Sonam actually took a local taxi from Mawkdok and then hopped on a local train from Guwahati. She kept changing trains on her way to Indore," East Khasi Hills district Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem told PTI.

However, it is still not clear how did she land in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, hometown of her alleged boyfriend, police said.

Mawkdok is a tourist spot located near Sohrarim where the couple's rented scooter from Shillong was found abandoned.