Sonam Raghuvanshi was in extensive touch and had made over 200 calls to a man named Sanjay Verma, before and after her marriage with Raja Raghuvanshi, whom she murdered in Meghalaya last month.
Amid speculation over the fresh set of details and Sonam’s link to Sanjay, the Meghalaya Police said the man is none other than Raj Kushwaha, the woman’s lover who hatched the plan for Raja’s murder.
According to the police, Sonam had saved Raj’s number as “Sanjay Verma” possibly to avoid any suspicion. Records accessed by the police showed that Sonam and Sanjay exchanged 234 calls within a span of 39 days – between March 1 and April 8. Both of them spoke for at least 30 to 60 minutes each time, the records showed.
Sanjay’s mobile number was last active on WhatsApp on June 8, the day when all the accused in the case were arrested and Sonam surrendered before the police.
On Wednesday, Sonam’s brother Govind said he was not familiar with any man named “Sanjay”. “…I don’t know anything about Sanjay Verma. I have also learned today that Sanjay’s name is also coming up in this….,” he said.
Sonam had hired three hitmen to get rid of Raja.
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The murder case initially began as that of a “missing couple”, after Raja and Sonam could not be traced during their honeymoon in the northeastern state, but took a tragic turn and revealed a shocking betrayal.
The couple – both from Indore – got married on May 11. According to the police, the wedding took place despite Sonam’s relationship with Raj, who worked as an accountant at the furniture sheet unit owned by her family. Sonam used to look after the family business.
Photo Credit: PTI
After their wedding in Indore, Raja and Sonam travelled to Meghalaya for honeymoon. They disappeared on May 23, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where Raja’s body was found on June 2.
Amid an intense search for “missing” Sonam, she surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur on June 8 and later surrendered at Nandganj police station. This came hours after the hitmen – Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi – were arrested from Uttar Pradesh and Indore and Sagar towns (in Madhya Pradesh). Raj was arrested later.
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On June 11, Sonam reportedly confessed to killing her husband. Police said her cousin, Jitendra Raghuvanshi, had cleared the first installment of payment to the three hitmen.
Govind said his family has snapped all ties with Sonam. He also expressed solidarity with Raja’s grieving family members and vowed to help them in their fight for justice in a case which has shocked the nation.
