Shillong (Meghalaya), June 21: A district and sessions court in Shillong on Saturday remanded Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha to 13 days of judicial custody in connection with the high-profile murder case of Raja Raghuvanshi.
Superintendent of Police (East Khasi Hills) Vivek Syiem confirmed to ANI that both individuals were sent to judicial custody following the court's order. Assistant Public Prosecutor Tushar Chanda stated that the police had not sought custodial interrogation, and the Investigating Officer requested judicial custody instead, which the court granted.
"The court has remanded both the accused for 13 days. Since police did not request custody, the IO asked for judicial custody, which has been granted," Chanda said.
This follows the court’s earlier decision on Thursday to send the other three accused — Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand — to 14 days of judicial custody. All five were arrested by Meghalaya Police in connection with the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, a newlywed who had traveled to Meghalaya on his honeymoon.
Among those arrested are his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, along with Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Raj Singh Kushwaha, and Anand. Raja Raghuvanshi's body was discovered in a gorge near Sohra (Cherrapunji) on June 2. His wife Sonam was later found abandoned near a roadside eatery along the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway.
The couple, originally from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, had gone missing during their honeymoon trip. Following the arrests, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Meghalaya Police recreated the crime scene in Sohra with the participation of the accused to better understand the sequence of events.
SP Vivek Syiem said the reconstruction was crucial and yielded significant insights. “The reconstruction gave us a very clear picture,” he said, adding that one more machete allegedly used in the murder is yet to be recovered.
“The SIT revisited multiple locations to trace the movements and actions of the accused,” Syiem explained. “We began from the parking area where they left their two-wheelers and followed their path to the viewpoint, identifying each person’s position at the time of the incident.”
The investigation into the shocking murder continues, as police work to recover remaining evidence and build a watertight case.
