Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 10 (HBTV): Vipin Raghuvanshi, brother of the deceased Raja Raghuvanshi, on Tuesday levelled fresh allegations against his sister-in-law and prime accused, Sonam Raghuvanshi, in the ongoing investigation into the Meghalaya honeymoon murder case.

Vipin alleged that Sonam staged her surrender and claimed that more than five individuals were involved in the crime. He further accused Sonam’s mother of withholding information from their family and claimed she was aware of her daughter’s alleged affair with Raj Kushwaha.

Speaking to ANI, Vipin Raghuvanshi said, ‘We are sure there are more than five accused in the case. When Sonam surrendered, she called her brother and said someone had dropped her off here. How did she not know those two people? We discovered that she got here by bus and that two other people were with her. She just framed the whole scene. She's pretending to surrender. We have faith in the investigations being carried out by the police.’

He added, ‘Had Raj Kushwaha been innocent, he wouldn't be talking to Sonam for hours. Sonam was found in Raj's hometown; she probably took shelter in his house. The time between Raja's murder and the recovery of his body, Sonam would talk to Raj for hours. We did a background check of their family before getting Raja married to her. We had no idea Sonam would turn out to be like this.’

Vipin further claimed, ‘I believe Sonam's mother kept things from us. She didn't tell us the whole story, and she would have known that Raj had an affair with Sonam. Had Sonam's father and brother known about Raj, they would have fired him from their factory. I think there are more than five people in the case.’

Meanwhile, the fourth accused in the murder case, identified as Anand, has been sent to a seven-day transit remand until June 16. Three other accused — Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Raj Singh Kushwaha — had received similar transit remand on Monday.

Speaking to ANI, Additional DCP Rajesh Dandotiya said, ‘The fourth accused, Anand, was brought here by Shillong Police. He is being presented in front of the court for transit remand. Shillong Police will take all four accused with them and investigate further. Anand is a resident of Indore, and all three accused are friends of Raj Kushwaha.’

He added, ‘Raj used to work as an accountant at Sonam Raghuvanshi's office. Vishal and Anand were students in their first and second years, and Akash was unemployed. None of them has any criminal record. All four accused are between 20 and 25 years of age. All the interrogation has been done by the Shillong Police.’

All four will be taken to Shillong following the completion of transit remand formalities. According to the police, Sonam Raghuvanshi, wife of the deceased, and Raj Kushwaha are the prime accused.

Sonam was earlier brought to the Phulwari Sharif police station in Bihar's Patna by Meghalaya Police after securing a three-day transit remand. On Monday, the police had obtained transit remand for the other three accused in the case.

The case concerns the alleged murder of Raja Raghuvanshi during a honeymoon trip in Meghalaya, reportedly orchestrated by contract killers hired by his wife. A senior Uttar Pradesh police official stated that Sonam was found near a dhaba on the Varanasi–Ghazipur main road. She was held at the Sakhi One Stop Centre in Ghazipur and taken for a medical examination after the arrival of Meghalaya Police.

Earlier, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong confirmed the arrest of four individuals in connection with the case. Addressing the media on June 9, shortly after Sonam surrendered to the police, Tynsong said that authorities are still searching for one remaining suspect. He confirmed that Sonam had voluntarily turned herself in and that all those apprehended would be taken to Shillong for further investigation.

Meghalaya Special Investigation Team (SIT) Chief Herbert Pyniaid Kharkongor stated that, according to the post-mortem report, Raja Raghuvanshi sustained two head injuries.

Raja and Sonam, both residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, had gone missing during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. Raja’s body was later recovered in the state.

(ANI)