Not money but favour, Raj's cousin among accused: Police reveals real motive in Meghalaya murder case

Meghalaya murder case: In the ongoing investigation into the Meghalaya murder case, the theory of contract killing has been rejected after police said that money was not the only motive behind the killing of Raja Raghuvanshi. Police said that the three men - Vishal, Akash, and Anand - arrested with the main accused Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha were involved in the murder as a favour.

“The three young people were friends, and one of them is a cousin of Raj,” the East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, Vivek Syiem, told the news agency PTI.

“It was not a typical contract killing. Yes, the plan was to kill and they did it as a favour to their friend Raj,” he added.

The Meghalaya Police has said that Raj Kushwaha, the alleged lover of Sonam, was the mastermind of Raja Raghvuvanshi's murder, and the other three men just helped him as a favour. Raj allegedly gave them ₹50,000 for logistical expenses, the police said.

Moreover, initially Raj and Sonam had plans to murder a random woman, burn her body and pass it off a Sonam.

“The conspiracy to eliminate Raja was hatched in Indore, shortly before his wedding with Sonam on May 11, and the mastermind is Raj, while the woman had agreed to the plot,” Syiem said.

A timeline of the Meghalaya murder case

Now, there are multiple allegations and claims from the police and families on all sides in the murder case. Here’s a dated timeline of updates in the investigation:

The Meghalaya Police claimed that Sonam hired contract killers to murder Raja Raghuvanshi.

• Sonam’s father Devi Singh claimed his daughter is innocent and the Meghalaya police were lying. He alleged police did not investigate the case and falsely accused Sonam.
• The owner of the dhaba where Sonam was found narrated the story of her situation on the night of the arrest. He said that she came to the dhaba crying and said her phone was stolen. She asked him for his mobile to call her family. She told the dhaba owner that her jewelry and cash were looted in Meghalaya during the honeymoon and her husband was murdered.
• Raja’s family said one of the accused, Raj Kushwaha, used to work in the factory of Sonam. Police claimed the duo might be romantically related.
• FIR filed in the case reported that at the time of the recovery of Raja's dead body, his gold rings, chain, cash, and wallet were missing.
• Raja’s mother and other people present at his funeral claimed that one of the accused, Raj Kaushwaha, was there during the ceremony.
• Raj Kushwaha’s family pleaded that the 20-year-old was innocent and could not commit such a crime. He was the only caretaker of the family and was not highly educated.
• One of the accused arrested in the case, Anand Kurmi, told police that they met Raja when the couple was trekking. Sonam insisted that the four men join them as they were in a forest area. When Raja agreed, they went on to trek with the couple.
• Police claimed that Sonam returned to Indore after Raja’s murder and met Raj in a rented room to discuss the plan of action.
• Police alleged that Sonam gave ₹15 lakh to Raj Kushwaha and other accused for murdering her husband. Police said Raj said he changed the plan to go to Shillong and suggested other accused do the same, but Sonam forced them.