The mother of Raj Kushwaha, arrested for allegedly plotting the murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi with the latter's wife Sonam during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, on Tuesday claimed her son was innocent and framed in the case.
"My son died in agony. All the culprits should be hanged to set an example, so that no family loses its son to such crime in future," Raghuvanshi's father Ashok Raghuvanshi told PTI.
The Meghalaya Police on Monday arrested the owner of a flat where Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused in the murder of her husband during their honeymoon, stayed in Indore after fleeing the northeastern state following the crime last month, an officer said.
The trio was brought here from Madhya Pradesh amid tight security and were taken to the Civil Hospital for medical check-ups before they were produced in court.
Talking to reporters during Raghuvanshi's 13th-day death ritual in Indore, his elder brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, said, "We want a narco-analysis test on Sonam, her parents, brother Govind and sister-in-law."
Raghuvanshi (29) and his wife Sonam had gone missing on May 23, hours after they checked out of a homestay at Nongriat village in Sohra area. His body was found on Monday in a gorge 20 km from the village, while a search is underway for his wife.
A rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, organized by the Inqilab Moncho party, demanded justice for slain student leader Sharif Osman Hadi and called for the cancellation of work permits for all Indians residing in Bangladesh. The protest also sought the repatriation of alleged killers believed to be in India, further straining relations between the two countries.
On the other hand, Kushwaha, Sonam's suspected boyfriend, put the blame for orchestrating the murder on her, deputy inspector general of police DNR Marak said on Thursday.
Raja was hacked to death on May 23 while honeymooning in the northeastern state. His wife Sonam, her alleged boyfriend Raj and three hitmen have been arrested in connection with the murder.
Raja Raghuvanshi (29) and his wife Sonam had gone missing on May 23, hours after they checked out of a homestay at Nongriat village in Sohra area
In a significant breakthrough, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Meghalaya Police on Sunday recovered key evidence, including a missing gold chain of Raja Raghuvanshi, who was killed in Sohra last month.
Raja and his wife Sonam disappeared on May 23 hours after they checked out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where his body was found, they said.
Post-mortem saying two head injuries with a sharp cutting weapon, Kharkongor said.
While their suitcase remained at the Sohra homestay, they spent the night at a homestay in Nongriat before checking out early on May 23.
After Sonam was found in Uttar Pradesh, the police officials sent her to Sadar Hospital for initial treatment. Now she is kept in the Sakhi One Stop Centre, the official said.
The accused, Raja Rahuvanshi's wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Singh Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand, were then brought back to the Shillong Sadar Police Station.
The couple arrived in Mawlakhiat village on May 22 on a rented scooter. They trekked over 3,000 steps down the gorge to visit the famous living root bridges in Nongriat village, where they stayed the night, according to police.
All those arrested will be taken to Sohra around 12 pm on Tuesday for the reconstruction of the crime scene, the police said.
A tourist guide on Saturday claimed that the honeymoon couple from Indore, Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, was accompanied by three men on the day they went missing from Meghalaya's Sohra area.
National Disaster Response Force personnel on Tuesday joined the search for a missing tourist from Indore a day after her husband's body was found in a gorge in Sohra area of Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district, police said.
'I feel the murderers had done a recce of this place before murdering Raja.' 'It is isolated, there are no CCTV cameras.' 'It was a fit place to commit the crime.'
Body parts of the man's mother were found on February 19 near Cherrapunji.
'The Meghalaya police are giving false statements about my daughter because the state government's image is getting tarnished due to Raja Raghuvanshi's murder case'
The family of Raja Raghuvanshi, an Indore-based businessman murdered during his honeymoon, is demanding the death penalty for his wife, Sonam, the prime accused, and four others. Meghalaya police have filed a chargesheet against eight individuals in connection with the case.
Sonam was arrested along with four others for allegedly killing her husband Raja while the couple was honeymooning in the picturesque north eastern state of Meghalaya.
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.
The brother of Sonam Raghuvanshi, who is among the five arrested for the murder of her Indore-based husband Raja Raghuvanshi, on Wednesday came out in support of the victim's family and vowed to fight a legal battle to get justice for them.
Victim's brother said he never thought Sonam Raghuvanshi was capable of murdering Raja.
The police said Lokhande's wife was irked by his insistence on consummating the marriage, leading to a heated exchange between them.
After four people were arrested in the Indore couple case, Special Investigation Team (SIT) Chief, Herbert Pyniaid Kharkongor, said on Monday that they will get their transit remand to bring them to Shillong.
Following Sonam Raghuvanshi's surrender in the Meghalaya honeymoon murder case in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, her brother Govind Raghuvanshi on Monday has refrained from commenting further.
The Meghalaya Police, which codenamed the investigation as 'Operation Honeymoon', collected evidence from the residences and other places frequented by the accused in Indore and Ghazipur, Syiem said.
The brother of an Indore man murdered during his honeymoon in Meghalaya suspects his wife, the main accused, may have married her accomplice while in hiding after the crime.
Raja Raghuvanshi, the Indore resident killed while honeymooning in Meghalaya, was told by his wife Sonam that she would let him consummate the marriage only after making an offering at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, investigators said on Wednesday.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday said he has requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the disappearance of an Indore-based woman in Meghalaya a fortnight back.
Raja's mother said that Sonam behaved well towards her and used to hug her when they met. She added that if Sonam has no involvement in the case, then she should not be accused.
'Sonam's phones must have been destroyed somewhere on the way, but we cannot confirm it until we start questioning her.'
The police also found out that Raj Kushwaha, boyfriend of Sonam, was the mastermind in the murder plot and she is the co-conspirator.
A settlement was facilitated by the officials of the local Bisauli police between both the families who mutually agreed to part ways. Items gifted during the wedding, including jewellery and household items, were returned. Neither side has pursued any legal action, according to an officer.
