A district and sessions court in Meghalaya’s Shillong on Saturday sent Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha to 13 days of judicial custody in connection with the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case. Superintendent of Police (SP) of East Khasi Hills district Vivek Syiem told ANI that Raghuvanshi and Kushwaha have been remanded to 13-day judicial custody.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Tushar Chanda also said the accused have been remanded to judicial custody since the police didn’t ask for custody. “The court has remanded both the accused for 13 days of judicial custody. The police did not ask for custody. The Investigating Officer pleaded for judicial custody. The court granted 13-day judicial custody,” Chanda told ANI.
On Thursday, the district and sessions court sent the remaining accused — Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand — to 14-day judicial custody. This development came after the Meghalaya Police arrested five people in connection with the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, a newlywed who had come to the state on his honeymoon. Those arrested include his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, and four others: Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Raj Singh Kushwaha, and Anand.
Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found in a gorge near Sohra (Cherrapunji) on June 2. Sonam was later found near a roadside dhaba along the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway. The couple, both residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, had gone missing during their honeymoon trip to Meghalaya. Earlier, as part of its investigation, the Meghalaya Police SIT reconstructed the crime scene as part of their investigations into the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi. The murder scene was recreated by the SIT team in Sohra in the presence of the accused, Sonam Raghuvanshi, and three others.
SP Vivek Syiem said that the reconstruction of the crime scene was very successful as the police then “got a very clear picture.”
Detailing the reconstruction of the crime scene, SP Vivek Syiem said that one more machete used to murder Raja Raghuvanshi still needs to be recovered. “The SIT visited several places to re-enact how the accused did it. We started from the parking lot where they had kept their two-wheelers. We went to the viewpoint, and ascertained who was standing where just before the murder. There were three blows – first by Vishal, second by Anand, and the last blow by Akash. We have ascertained that one more machete still needs to be recovered. The accused replayed how they threw the machete. SDRF are trying to recover the second weapon,” he said. Speaking to the media, SP Vivek Syiem also informed that Sonam Raghuvanshi and Vishal damaged Raja Raghuvanshi’s phone after the murder. “We have ascertained what happened to Raja’s mobile phone. Sonam damaged it, and then Vishal damaged it. This whole thing was played out, and also their exit from here,” he said.”We have ascertained that the victim was hit with the weapon. The first hit was by Vishal aka Vicky. When Raja was hit and blood came out, Sonam moved away from the spot. The three accused threw the body down,” he added.
