Meghalaya Murder Case: Sonam Raghuvanshi Paid ₹20 Lakh to Kill Husband Raja, Say Police

Meghalaya Murder Case: Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of plotting the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, allegedly paid ₹20 lakh to contract killers after the act, according to a senior officer from Meghalaya Police.

Raja Raghuvanshi's body was found in a gorge near a waterfall in the Sohra area (also known as Cherrapunji) of the East Khasi Hills district on June 2, days after he reached Meghalaya with his wife Sonam for their honeymoon.

The hitmen hired by Sonam first met with the newlywed couple in Bengaluru, from where they took their connecting flight to the northeast, the sources said, adding that since the victim and the accused were from the same city, they got talking. Sonam had allegedly hired killers to get rid of her husband as she reportedly wanted to be with her lover.

The officer also said she initially handed over ₹15,000 in cash to the assailants, which she had taken directly from her husband's wallet during the crime.

Sonam Raghuvanshi was arrested on Tuesday by Meghalaya Police from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, where she had surrendered to authorities. She was later brought to Shillong the same night. Her surrender came a day after the arrest of her alleged boyfriend, Raj Kushwaha, and three suspected contract killers from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the murder.

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“Raj Kushwaha claims he didn’t want to support Sonam, and at the last moment, cancelled his plan to go to Meghalaya. He also allegedly asked the three others not to go, but they went to see Meghalaya after Sonam booked the tickets. Even at the last moment, the three refused to kill, but Sonam insisted and said she would give ₹15 lakh for that. Police are verifying these claims,” a senior police officer from Indore, who is working with the Meghalaya police on the investigation, told

In fact, Sonam Raghuvanshi, who was initially reported missing in Meghalaya, apparently visited Indore after her husband was murdered and stayed in a rented flat for three days, a police official said.

“We have received the information that Sonam came to Indore and stayed in a rented flat in Dewas Naka area between May 25 and 27,” the official said.

After surrendering at a dusty dhaba in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, the 26-year-old was held at a women’s shelter until a team of Meghalaya Police arrived.

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On Tuesday, she was officially taken into transit custody from Bihar’s Phulwari Sharif police station. Her next stop: Shillong, where the murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, will be reconstructed with her as the central figure.

Three other accused — Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, and Vishal Singh Chauhan — had already been placed on seven-day transit remand on Monday. The fourth accused, Anand, was brought to Indore from Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district.

Indore additional DCP (Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya confirmed that all four men, aged between 20 and 25, will be taken to Meghalaya for further questioning.

“Raj worked as an accountant in Sonam’s office. Vishal and Anand are students. Akash is currently unemployed. None of them has a criminal record,” Dandotiya said.

According to Meghalaya Police, the suspects have alleged that Sonam pretended to be exhaustion just before reaching the murder site. She reportedly positioned the assailants behind her husband and allegedly gave the instruction to kill once they reached a secluded spot.

The police now plan to take Sonam and the three alleged killers back to the location where the murder occurred to reconstruct the crime.

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