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Sonam Raghuvanshi last spoke to her in-laws while trekking in Meghalaya’s mountains.
Meghalaya police suspect Sonam and her boyfriend plotted Raja’s murder during their honeymoon.
Raja’s body was found in a gorge on June 2, with signs of violence and foul play indicated.
Indore:
Sonam Raghuvanshi last spoke to her in-laws while trekking to a steep peak to get a glimpse of a waterfall in the lush mountains of Meghalaya. The picturesque hills offered breathtaking views, she argued when her mother-in-law questioned the need for undertaking such a steep hike.
It appeared to be a normal conversation between a caring mother and her child, except for the possible clues that it threw up on Raja’s murder during their honeymoon, for which she is the prime suspect.
Meghalaya police believe Raja’s murder was planned by Sonam and her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha, and that they had hired three men to eliminate him when the couple had gone trekking in the remote Meghalaya trail.
Read: A Crime For Friendship? The 3 ‘Contract Killers’ Who Murdered Indore Man
Raja’s mother, Uma Raghuvanshi, likely made the phone call before the couple went missing on May 23. In an unverified audio clip of the phone call, she was first heard enquiring if her son’s phone had started working, indicating she had been trying to reach him, but couldn’t.
Sonam answered negatively.
“We are climbing. We will call once we reach,” she replied, though it’s not known if that promised call was ever made.
Towards the end of the phone call, his mother seemed relieved to be able to reach her daughter-in-law. However, with Raja not speaking to his mother during the call, it is not known if he had been killed by that time. How this last phone call fits in with the police version of events will be significant in answering the questions that remain.
The fact that Raja’s mother had been trying to reach him but couldn’t because his phone was not reachable is the first clue that will likely feature in the probe against Sonam. Second would be why Raja did not speak to his mother during the call, even though the couple was believed to be together, and that his mother had been trying to reach him.
Read: In Sinister Plot, Sonam’s Lover Consoles Her Father At Husband’s Funeral
During the phone call, Raja’s mother also enquired if Sonam had kept fast. “I was preparing food, and I remembered that today is your fast. You have fasted, right?” she was heard asking. “Yes. I told them that I will not break my fast because of travelling,” Sonam replied.
His mother then asked her to eat some food that’s allowed during fasting, but she said they were trekking and they wouldn’t get anything in the jungle.
She then noted Sonam was panting, but the daughter-in-law replied, “It is a tough trek. It’s a dense forest with a steep ascent.”
“Why did you go there? Couldn’t you see it without climbing?” Raja’s mother asked. To this, Sonam replied, “We went to see a waterfall. I had refused, but he (Raja) didn’t listen. It was so hectic. We didn’t even get proper food.”
That was the last time Sonam spoke to the family. Next, she surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur on June 8 night, distraught and with fever, nearly a week after her husband’s body was found in a gorge in East Khasi Hills.
Read: “My Son And Sonam Worked Together”: Honeymoon Murder “Mastermind’s” Mother
The couple had left for Meghalaya on May 20, nine days after their wedding, and went missing three days later. The murder came to light on June 2, with Raja’s semi-decomposed body being found in a gorge with machete injuries.
Sonam remained untraceable until June 8, when she reached out to her brother Govind from Ghazipur. She was subsequently arrested. Raj, her boyfriend, was also picked up after the cops checked her call records.
The three contract killers were later arrested from different parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
A senior UP police official told NDTV that Sonam has claimed she was “drugged and brought to Ghazipur”, but she was a “poor planner” who had thought she could escape by presenting herself as the victim.
“This case is unique due to the extensive planning to avoid detection by taking the body to Meghalaya and dumping it in an inaccessible location. However, the plan failed,” said Additional Director General (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash.
