Sonam, Raj Sent to 2-Day Police Custody as Murder Probe Deepens, 3 Others in Judicial Custody

Shillong, June 19: Sonam Raghuvanshi and her lover Raj Singh Kushwaha were today remanded to another two days of police custody, while the other three accused were sent to 14 days of judicial custody.

All the accused involved in the murder of Indore businessman (L) Raja Raghuvanshi at Sohra were again produced before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) after their eight-day police custody ended today.

“As prayed, we have got two days of police custody for Sonam and Raj, while the other three accused persons, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi, have been sent to 14 days of judicial custody,” East Khasi Hills district police chief Vivek Syiem told reporters.

“As and when our team arrives (from Indore) or we get more developments from there, we will take custody of them (the three accused) later,” he said.

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He informed that Sonam and Raj will again be produced before the court on Saturday. On Tuesday, the SIT had successfully completed the reconstruction of the crime scene, which led to the recovery of the second murder weapon from Weisawdong Falls.

The SIT had visited a number of places, from the parking lot at Mawlakhiat, where they parked their rented two-wheelers, to the Weisawdong parking lot, where the crime was committed.

According to police, the accused persons had hacked Raja to death atop a parking lot near Weisawdong Falls and dumped his body in a nearby gorge in the Sohra area on May 23.

Syiem said, “Once we are done with the two days, we will conduct an analysis investigation and, if required, take them into police custody again.”

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He added that the police team still has a lot of work to do in Indore.

“We have already questioned Govind Raghuvanshi and Govind’s mother. Today, they confirmed who the driver was that took Sonam to Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

The SP further revealed that “Sanjay Verma” is just a fictitious name, the number is registered under that name on Truecaller, but it actually belongs to Raj Kushwaha.

He also noted that the call volume between Raj and Sonam is very high.

Additionally, Syiem said the police are still searching for Sonam’s second phone.

“We believe the second phone is probably with jewelry and other items Sonam left behind. We were hoping that the team would find those items at the locked place, but it appears someone has already shifted them. The team is there to find out who took the items and where they are now,” he said.

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Regarding an Instagram user who had posted videos of Sonam and Raja, Syiem stated, “We have reached out to him, but he has not responded yet. We have written to Instagram to provide us with details so that his statement can be recorded as well.”

The SP concluded that a lot of interrogation is still ongoing, with more questions being asked to piece together the full picture.

(Newmai News Network)