Shillong Court sends Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha to 2 days police custody; 3 others to 14 days judicial custody

Earlier, all five accused in the Sonam Raghuvanshi case were brought out of the Civil Hospital in Shillong after a medical check-up and are being produced before a local court today for further custody proceedings.

A team of Shillong Police questioned the taxi driver who transported Sonam Raghuvanshi from Indore to Uttar Pradesh. After the questioning, the driver stated, "They had called me in connection with the vehicle, I have told them everything."

Thereafter, police escorted the accused to the court for their custody.

The Meghalaya Police's SIT on Tuesday 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.

Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills, 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-play 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 Raja Raghuvashi's phone was damaged by Sonam Raghuvanshi and then by Vishal 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.

Later, speaking with ANI, Vivek Syiem said, "She (Sonam) has already confessed to the crime. Today, we recreated the crime scene, where she stood, what her role was, and everything that came out today. The three people killed Raja, and Sonam was standing there. She destroyed the phone. It was all pre-planned. All three of them dumped his body."

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. (ANI)