Raja Raghuvanshi murder case: Meghalaya cops question family members of Sonam, her `lover'

Indore, Jun 18 (PTI) A Meghalaya police team probing the murder of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi on Wednesday questioned the family members of his wife and prime accused Sonam and her alleged lover and co-accused Raj Kushwaha here.

The investigators are trying to find out whether there was any other factor or motive besides Sonam's pre-marriage affair with Kushwaha that led to the murder of Raghuvanshi (29) while on honeymoon in Meghalaya, sources said.

The Special Investigation Team from Meghalaya visited Sonam's parents' house in Govind Nagar Kharcha area here, and spent about two hours inside.

Later, it visited Kushwaha's house and questioned his mother Chunni Devi for half an hour.

Sonam's family -- whose surname is also Raghuvanshi -- deals in Sunmica sheets, and she was managing the family establishment until her arrest.

According to the local police, Kushwaha, accused of plotting the murder, is merely a Std 12th dropout, yet he worked as an accountant in Sonam's family business; and while he worked there, the two became close.

The Meghalaya police team asked the family members of Sonam and Kushwaha about their alleged relationship and whether there was any change in Sonam's behaviour after her marriage to Raja Raghuvanshi, sources said.

They also visited the office and warehouse of Sonam's family firm, and questioned a few people working there.

Soon after the Meghalaya team left Sonam's parental home, her brother Govind Raghuvanshi also left home in a car, and was seen accompanying the police team during their investigations.

The police team made "general inquiry" about Sonam's behaviour when they questioned him and his family members, Govind told reporters.

On reports of Sonam having several long phone conversations with one `Sanjay Verma', he said he had no information.

Sources, however, said a number used by Kushwaha was probably registered in this name earlier.

To the demand of Raja Raghuvanshi's family that all members of Sonam's family should be subjected to narco-analysis test, Govind said he had not committed any "sin", but if someone has a doubt, he was ready to undergo every kind of investigation.

On Tuesday night, the Meghalaya police recorded the statements of Raja Raghuvanshi's family members at their Sahakar Nagar house.

Raja Raghuvanshi's wife Sonam, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha (20) and Kushwaha's friends Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi have been arrested for alleged involvement in the murder conspiracy.

Raghuvanshi married Sonam on May 11, and the couple left for Meghalaya on May 20. Three days later, he went missing, and his mutilated body was found in a gorge near a waterfall in Sohra area of East Khasi Hills district on June 2.

Sonam surrendered before the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district on June 8, while Kushwaha and others were arrested from different parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. PTI HWP MAS NP KRK