Shillong, June 30 (UNI) Meghalaya Police is closer to unravelling the web of betrayal and conspiracy that led to the brutal killing of Raja Raghuvanshi in Sohra.
The case took a decisive turn when a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police, with support from Madhya Pradesh police, raided the home of arrested property dealer Silom James in Ratlam district.
During the raid, officers recovered crucial evidence, including Raja’s missing gold chain, laptops belonging to both Raja and his wife Sonam, and other incriminating materials.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said that the electronic devices and documents hold significant evidentiary value. They are expected to provide further insight into the premeditated nature of the May 23 murder involving Sonam Raghuvanshi and her lover, Raj Kushwaha.
The murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, a newlywed who had travelled to Sohra (popularly known as Cherrapunji) with his wife on a honeymoon trip, initially baffled authorities. His decomposed body was discovered near Weisawdong Falls on June 2, ten days after he was reported missing.
Raja and Sonam had rented a scooter from Keatinge Road in Shillong on May 22 and headed towards Sohra, about 65 km to the south.
After being unable to secure a room at a homestay, they left their belongings behind and trekked nearly 3,000 steps to Nongriat, a scenic but remote village famed for its living root bridges. The couple spent the night there and began their trek back to Mawlakhiat early the next morning.
Unknown to Raja, they were being tailed by three men from Indore—later identified as close friends of Raj Kushwaha, Sonam’s lover. The men, acting as contract killers, had been captured on camera by a tourist guide and an Instagram user while trekking in the same area, footage that later proved critical in the investigation.
By around 11 am on May 23, the group reached a secluded forested area near Weisawdong Falls, where Raja was ambushed and hacked to death with machetes before his body was dumped into a gorge.
The attackers and Sonam fled the scene immediately after the crime.
UNI XC ARN