Indore man's murder: His wife planned Meghalaya trip, says victim's mother

The mother of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, who was murdered in Meghalaya, on Monday claimed his wife Sonam planned the trip to the northeastern state for their honeymoon but did not book return tickets.

Uma Raghuvanshi also said her son and Sonam had an arranged marriage and Sonam's behaviour was "good" with their family, owing to which they never had any doubts about her.

Raghuvanshi was allegedly killed by men hired by his wife during the couple's honeymoon in Meghalaya, police in the north-eastern state said on Monday morning.

Sonam surrendered at the Nandganj police station in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, while three other assailants were arrested in overnight raids, Meghalaya DGP I. Nongrang told PTI. Of the three arrested men, two are from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore and one from Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh, she said. One more person was arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district on Monday, Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said.

Following their wedding on 11 May, Raghuvanshi and his wife left for Meghalaya on 20 May. They went missing while vacationing in the Sohra area of East Khasi Hills district on 23 May. Raghuvanshi's body was found in a gorge on 2 June.

While Raghuvanshi's family has been left stunned by the turn of events, Sonam's father claimed his daughter was innocent and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

Uma Raghuvanshi told reporters, "My son went to Meghalaya with Sonam on her insistence. He did not want to go on a honeymoon so soon. He had told me that Sonam booked tickets for the trip to Meghalaya. I told him if the ticket was booked, he should go to Meghalaya with his wife.

"My son also told me that though Sonam had not booked the return ticket for both of them from Meghalaya, they would return to Indore in six-seven days," she said.

Uma Raghuvanshi said she was shocked to see the latest picture of Sonam (from Ghazipur) because there was not even a scratch mark on her daughter-in-law — who was reported missing along with Raja — while her son was murdered. "I want to hear from Sonam, where, why and in what condition she left Raja," she said.

Raghuvanshi's mother claimed that after the couple's engagement, Sonam did not spend enough time with her son and avoided going out with him before the wedding. "When we asked Sonam about this, she said she had a lot of work to do in the office. Sonam said if she was not able to call my son, then my son could also call her," she said.

"Sonam's mother had told me that her family was very strongly against a man and woman meeting before marriage, and Sonam's father did not like such meetings," she said.

She also said Raja and Sonam's wedding was held in a traditional way with the consent of the couple and both families. After the marriage, Sonam's behaviour was good with their family, owing to which they had no doubts about her, she added.

"My son was very happy after the marriage. He wanted Sonam as his wife from the bottom of his heart. We still cannot believe that she could get her husband killed. It would have been better if my son had remained unmarried as it could have saved his life," she said.

Uma Raghuvanshi said if Sonam got her son killed, then she should be hanged to death. The distraught mother also said she feels restless at night after losing her son. "I tell my son's photo that whoever did wrong to him should be punished," she said.

Uma Raghuvanshi also said her son and their family had no idea about Raj Kushwaha, the prime suspect in the murder case.