In this episode of Newstrack, the focus is Raja Raghuvanshi, the Indore resident who was found dead in Meghalaya while on a honeymoon with his wife Sonam.
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00:00Marriage, murder, love and lies
00:09Chilling revelations in honeymoon horror
00:17Patti, patni or wo
00:30Cheating wife, hired killers and a murder
00:34Sordid saga of Sonam Bewafa
00:49Honeymoon murder horror
00:51That is our top focus on news track
00:53Barely a month after his wedding
01:00This Indore resident Raja Raghuvanshi
01:03He was found murdered in a place
01:06Where he had actually gone for his honeymoon
01:07And he had gone with his wife Sonam
01:10Who is now an accused in this horrific crime
01:13Now she stands accused of killing her husband
01:16With the help not just of Supari killers
01:19Or hired killers
01:20But also an alleged lover
01:23This story will send a chill down your spine
01:26And it's actually horrifying
01:28Why did she marry him in the first place
01:30If her lover is who she wanted to be with
01:33We'll explore some of the answers
01:35Investigations are underway
01:36I'm Gaurav Savan
01:37This is our top focus story on the news track
01:39But first is always the headlines
01:42BJP Chief and Union Minister
01:48J.P. Nadda hails
01:4911 years of the Narendra Modi government
01:51Says the Prime Minister
01:52Has changed the political culture of Bharat
01:56Congress asks
01:56Why hasn't the Prime Minister
01:58Held a press conference?
02:05Royal challengers Bangalore
02:07Seek quashing of criminal charges
02:09As Karnadaka High Court says
02:10Too soon to see
02:11If RCB
02:13Post led to the stampede
02:15Marketing chief granted
02:17Protection from arrest
02:18Chief Minister
02:19To bring Congress top brass
02:21On probe tomorrow
02:23Showdown over Rahul Gandhi's poll
02:30Rigging claim escalates
02:32The Congress MP asks
02:33The Election Commission
02:33To announce dates
02:35When they will share
02:36Maharashtra and Haryana
02:38Water rolls
02:39Launch of Axiom 4
02:46Mission to International Space Station
02:48Delayed due to weather conditions
02:50AX4 mission with Indian astronaut
02:53Shubhanshu Shukla
02:55Now set for the 11th of June 2025
02:58Protesters go on the rampage
03:05In Los Angeles
03:06Clashes arson over immigration raids
03:08US President Donald Trump
03:10Deploys National Guard
03:12LA Governor
03:13Sues the Trump administration
03:15Our top focus story on this special broadcast
03:30Is the murder investigations
03:32In the Raja Raghuvanshi case
03:35And India today has accessed a copy
03:36Of the first information report
03:39Filed by the police in Meghalaya
03:41According to the FIR
03:42Raja's gold chain
03:44Gold engagement ring
03:46Gold marriage ring
03:47Gold bracelet and wallet
03:50Containing wads of cash
03:52Is still missing
03:55It was found missing
03:56When his body was recovered
03:58Now the FIR is based on a complaint
04:01That was filed by the groom
04:03Raja Raghuvanshi's brother
04:05Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi
04:08They'd reached Shillong on the 21st of May
04:11Then visited Sohra on the 22nd of May
04:15And they hired a scooty from Shillong
04:18For the drive to Sohra
04:20On the 22nd afternoon
04:22Is when the family lost all contact with them
04:26The relatives both of Sonam and Raja
04:29Arrived in Shillong
04:30And found the body after several days of search
04:33On the 2nd of June ultimately
04:36Now according to Raja's brother
04:38Who's the complainant in this case
04:40The body was found in a highly decomposed state
04:44And that time Sonam was missing
04:47I quickly want to cut across to India
04:49Today's Aparvita Das
04:51Who joins us from Shillong with the latest
04:54What can you tell
04:55Give us details of this FIR Aparvita
04:58You have a copy of the FIR
05:00What does it say about
05:02Whatever is missing
05:05And beyond that
05:06Who the police believe are the suspects
05:08And why
05:09I couldn't hear you
05:12Could you please come again
05:13According to the police
05:16What have their investigations revealed so far
05:19Why do they suspect Sonam
05:21To be the murderer
05:22And what's the role of the hired
05:24Those who came with her
05:26Apparently there were three men with her
05:27So until June 2nd
05:32When Sonam Raja Raghumanshi's body was recovered
05:35So until then
05:36Mighale police was considering it
05:38A missing case
05:39So after his body was recovered
05:41They finally found out
05:42It's a homicide
05:44But they still did not come to the conclusion
05:46That it's a murder
05:47So the search went on and on
05:50In the gorge
05:51That infamous gorge
05:53Where people generally do not go
05:55Because it has two cliffs
05:56And it is several hundred meters deep
05:59And which is not easy
06:00Even for locals to go
06:03So once they found the body
06:06And they found that there was a murder weapon
06:07So the murder weapon also played a very important role here
06:11Mighale police went in search of this weapon outside
06:14I mean they searched entire Mighale
06:15And found out that it was not a local khasi
06:19Traditional dao or machete
06:21As it is called
06:22And they found out
06:24That the weapon was actually purchased
06:26From Guwahati
06:27Now after a few days
06:29They found a CCTV footage
06:31And there we can see that
06:32Sonam Raghumanshi was wearing a raincoat
06:36And the same raincoat was also recovered from Soura
06:38Apart from that
06:39Three men were seen with Sonam Raghumanshi
06:43And Raja Raghumanshi
06:44The day they went missing
06:45Which was according to a local guide
06:47The three men who were seen with Sonam and Raja Raghumanshi
06:51Turned out to be the same three men
06:53Who have been arrested from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
06:56So these are certain evidences that Mighale police has recovered
07:01They have found
07:01And ultimately everything is leading to Sonam being the main culprit
07:06Okay the murder weapon has been recovered
07:09But have they been able to link the murder weapon with the accused
07:14And do they have motive for murder just as yet?
07:17The motive is alleged to be again love triangle
07:22So this is what Mighale police is saying
07:25And they are looking more into it and investigating
07:29So only after Sonam and other accused are brought to Mighale and are handed over to the court
07:34It is only then it will be revealed whether it was actually a love triangle or not
07:40And so far we can see it be enveloped
07:42Okay I will come back to you four more
07:45So it has been 18 days after this couple from Madhya Pradesh
07:48Indoor in Madhya Pradesh
07:50They went missing while on honeymoon in Megale
07:52And a week after the husband's body was found
07:54Now the murder weapon has also been recovered
07:57Three assailants have been taken into custody
07:58The wife was found under rather mysterious circumstances
08:02She claims she claims she was abducted
08:06She claims all the jewellery was taken away by the assailants
08:11And she says she was dumped near Gazipur in Uttar Pradesh
08:15And she has absolutely no idea how she reached Gazipur
08:18Both the Mighale and the Madhya Pradesh police
08:22Incidentally remember the Madhya Pradesh police had also formed
08:24A special investigation team to go into this case
08:27They are investigating both the claims from both sides
08:30Take a look
08:31A romantic honeymoon that ended in betrayal, blood and handcuffs
08:41The Raja Raghuvanshi murder case in Meghalaya took a stunning turn
08:46When his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi was arrested in Gazipur in Uttar Pradesh
08:52Sources say Sonam called her home after 1am on Monday
08:56Her family informed Indaur police
08:59Who in turn alerted their counterparts in Gazipur
09:02Sonam was picked up by UP police from a dhaba in Gazipur
09:08A tea stall owner who claims to have seen her reach the dhaba
09:12Claims Sonam looked composed
09:15The Meghalaya police claim Sonam allegedly hired three killers
09:39Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam, both from Indaur had gone on a honeymoon trip to Meghalaya
09:43They were last seen on May 23rd
09:47On June 2nd, Raja's body was found in a gorge
09:49Injury marks revealed he was stabbed
09:53The wife, however, was missing
09:56The police allege Raj Kushwaha, an employee at Sonam's father's
10:01factory, has emerged as a central figure in the crime
10:05Sources claim Sonam and Kushwaha
10:08Sources claim Sonam were romantically involved before the marriage
10:12So far, five suspects Sonam, Kushwaha and Kushwaha
10:13Sources claim Sonam and Kushwaha were romantically involved before the marriage
10:19In a second, Raja's body was found in a gorge
10:20Injury marks revealed he was stabbed
10:21The wife, however, was missing
10:22The police allege Raj Kushwaha, an employee at Sonam's father's factory, has emerged as a central figure in the crime
10:26Sources claim Sonam and Kushwaha were romantically involved before the marriage
10:36So far, five suspects Sonam, Kushwaha and three alleged killers are arrested
10:44What began as a missing person case has exploded into a suspected contract killing complete with love, lies and hired blames
10:56With Arvind Ojha, Santosh Sharma and Samarth Srivastav, Bureau Report, India Today
11:04Joining me now on this India Today special broadcast is Dr Vikram Singh
11:13As somebody who will analyse information that's available in public domain
11:18And the conclusions police have reached so far
11:21Sir, all the theories that are being put forward
11:24A pati patni and woe angle
11:27The wife being suspected
11:29The role of the wife and the alleged lover
11:32Does it all add up?
11:35Good evening
11:37I would say that everything is adding up
11:39And I must compliment
11:40The Meghalaya police were a very professional investigation
11:43I know that they were being criticized for being absolutely indifferent and unprofessional
11:48But now over the few days that have passed
11:51On 11th they get married
11:54Married 21st
11:56They go for the honeymoon
11:5723rd
11:58They go missing
11:59And on the 2nd of June
12:00The body of the deceased is recovered
12:02Because of the tattoo on the right arm
12:03Giving his name Raja
12:05They use the drone technology
12:07And all the things that they have for scientific aids to investigation
12:10Now to piece everything together
12:12The dump data
12:13The murder weapon as your reporter
12:15Just that murder weapon was not local
12:17Or something that Meghalaya's people would use
12:19It is from something that was outside Meghalaya
12:22Then also the dump data
12:24And the mobile data
12:25And also the electronic surveillance
12:28And also the spot of the CCTV footages
12:31Spotting the 3 outsiders
12:33Then putting the various
12:34And adding the jobs together
12:36Now the total picture that has emerged is
12:39That the employee
12:40That is Raj Khushwaha
12:42Happened to be in close connect with Sonam
12:45And also the telephonic intercepts
12:47And the telephonic connection
12:49And the CDRs also indicate
12:51That the long long conversations
12:52And also these 3 who were picked up
12:54Aakash, Anam and Vishal
12:56These 3 and also the communication that they had
12:59Everything was highly suspicious
13:02And things were just not adding up
13:04It is a murder most foul number 1
13:06Murder with love triangle
13:08As also the dimension of robbery
13:10Because very seldom
13:11I have never seen
13:12The girls do carry their jewellery
13:14But very seldom
13:15The bridegroom carries
13:16All the wedding jewellery
13:18Like the diamond ring
13:19The gold bracelet
13:20The gold ring
13:21The gold chain
13:22He was almost carrying a jewellery
13:24Costing 20 lakhs
13:25And what the purpose was
13:26That is an elite
13:27Is to loot
13:28And then both of them
13:29Could go to some foreign country
13:31Via Nepal
13:32Well this is just in the conjecture
13:33And of course
13:35There is an element of investigation also
13:37But it is very seldom seen
13:39That the girl provokes the bridegroom
13:41Into taking the jewellery
13:42And then ensnaring him
13:44And taking him to a place
13:45You may have heard of
13:46The other side of Midnight
13:48And others at
13:50Unbhari Maag
13:52And the other OTT platforms
13:53I am sure you don't have time
13:54To see the OTT plan
13:55But so much of crime
13:56Hedonism and violence
13:58That is being served
13:59And the youngsters are privy to that
14:00Well the mind's wiring changes
14:02And I say there is a mutagenic
14:04Variations of the brain
14:05So that what may appear to be shocking
14:07To most of us
14:08Would be something that appears to be
14:09Very routine
14:10To Akash, Anand, Vishal and Sonam
14:14And the rest is history
14:15And trust me
14:16It is only a matter of time
14:17Before they crack
14:18And they come out with a confession
14:20Before the magistrate
14:21And one confession
14:22And the entire cat is out of the back
14:25And the scheme and the conspiracy
14:27Will be open
14:28I only think that
14:29In the next 48 hours
14:30Gaurav ji
14:31The entire case will be worked out
14:33What all corroborative evidence
14:35Would be required
14:36In this case
14:38From the
14:39You know
14:40Purchase of the ticket
14:41And apparently
14:42The groom's mother said
14:43The choice of Shillong
14:45As a vacation destination
14:46Was Sonam's idea
14:48Apparently
14:49Procurement of ticket
14:50Not just of the bride and the groom
14:52But also
14:53The three alleged hired assailants
14:56The fact
14:57You know
14:58Payment was made to others
15:00All of that
15:01Would that be seen as corroborative evidence
15:03If there is evidence to corroborate
15:04All of what the police are claiming?
15:06This will be a subsidiary evidence
15:08But it's very seldom again
15:10That the bride arranges for the venue
15:12Of the venue
15:13She doesn't
15:14Can decide
15:15And has a veto power
15:16But the ticketing and all is done
15:17By the groom
15:19Or his family
15:20In this case
15:21The choice of the honeymoon
15:22Also the vacation
15:23As you understand
15:24It was with absolute precision
15:26And with a sense of purpose
15:27To ensure the person
15:28And then kill him there
15:30Also
15:31The return tickets were never purchased
15:32All the tickets
15:33Yes
15:34Onward journey was purchased
15:35By the bride
15:36By the bride herself
15:37Why were the return tickets not purchased?
15:39Obviously
15:40Whoever purchased
15:41Was too smart to have realised
15:42That there would be no return
15:43And therefore
15:44No need to buy
15:45A return reservation
15:46Therefore
15:47I would say
15:48Corroborative evidence
15:49And the clinching evidence
15:50Would be the electronic evidence
15:52And the CDRs
15:53The intercommunication
15:54Among the three assailants
15:56Raj Kushwaha
15:58And so on
15:59This interconnection
16:01And the whatsapp chats
16:02Also would be an indicator
16:04And would be the conclusive evidence
16:05Of the case
16:06That's a very interesting point to make
16:09Because when you and I travel
16:10We always buy a return ticket
16:11And in this case
16:12True
16:13There was no return ticket
16:14Especially of the groom
16:15The groom
16:16Because at least some people knew
16:17The groom
16:18Would not be returning
16:19At least alive
16:20Stay with me for a moment sir
16:22This brutal murder
16:23Of Raja Raghuwanshi
16:25It's actually shocked
16:26Not just his family
16:27It hasn't just shocked
16:28Indora, Madhya Pradesh
16:29It's shocked the nation
16:30There is grief
16:31Yes
16:32In his family
16:33But there's rage
16:34Almost across
16:35There are rising demands
16:36That there should be
16:37An independent
16:38Central Bureau of Investigation
16:39Probe
16:40A probe by the CBI
16:41We'll also get to
16:42Those heartbreaking
16:43Family scenes
16:44That are unfolding
16:45In both the families
16:46The groom's mother
16:48Just can't believe
16:49That the bride
16:50Could be involved
16:51In this horrific crime
16:52She says the bride
16:53Would speak to her
16:54Almost every day
16:55Including from Meghalaye
16:56Till the time
16:57Their phone suddenly
16:58Went operational
16:59And when her son's phone
17:00Went operational
17:01She called up the bride
17:02And she said
17:03Battery khatab ho gai
17:04Or what should that effect
17:05Is just
17:06Is just very bizarre
17:07We bring you more
17:08In this report
17:13Marriage
17:14Murder
17:15Agony
17:16And grief
17:17And now
17:18Blame game
17:23The mysterious death
17:24Of Raja Raghuwanshi
17:25Who was slaughtered
17:26During the honeymoon
17:27In Shilong
17:28Has left the country
17:29Shocked
17:31The police have arrested
17:32Four including
17:33His wife Sonam
17:34For allegedly plotting
17:35To kill Raghuwanshi
17:36With her lover
17:37The police claim
17:39Sonam hired
17:40Hitmen
17:41To murder Raja
17:42Who was killed
17:43While on honeymoon
17:44Sonam allegedly
17:45Fled to Shilong
17:46After the murder
17:47She was arrested
17:49From Ghazipur
17:50In Indore
17:52Anger is boiling over
17:54Raja's grieving
17:55Family burned
17:56Sonam's posters
17:57Outside a home
17:58Demanding swift justice
18:00His brother
18:01Also claimed
18:02That she was
18:03Justice
18:04With Raj Khushwafa
18:05For work
18:06And may be involved
18:07His brother
18:08His brother also claimed
18:09That she was in contact
18:10With Raj Khushwafa
18:11For work
18:12And may be involved
18:43In the hospital
18:44In the hospital
18:45In the hospital
18:46Of the hospital
18:47In the hospital
18:48And the hospital
18:49In the hospital
18:50But was next
18:51In the hospital
18:52In the hospital
18:53Sonam's parents
18:54Say she's being framed
18:56Her mother Sangeeta insists the allegations are false and is demanding a CBI probe.
19:02Her father Devi Singh is pointing fingers at the Meghalaya police.
19:26Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had earlier urged the centre to hand over the case to the CBI.
19:45The arrest of Sonam and alleged hit men marks a dramatic twist in the murder case.
19:51With Samarth Shivastav and Santosh Sharma, Bureau Report, India Today.
19:56Dr. Vikram Singh, the groom's family have another side, another take on this.
20:05Their point is, they were not keen on the wedding immediately.
20:09They wanted the wedding to take place next year, but the bride's father insisted the wedding should take place right away.
20:16This is the only muhurt, he said, because both are Manglicks.
20:19And that is why he said next entire year, there is no muhurt.
20:23So the family says, is there a bigger conspiracy?
20:27Is that an aspect that should be investigated?
20:29Very much.
20:31Why the urgency to go in for a wedding immediately?
20:34And if you're so worried and concerned and believer in astrology, I know the basic rudiment.
20:39There's always an upaya for the Manglick weddings.
20:42And any purohit would do that upaya.
20:44And that's a very simple upaya.
20:45And the wedding can happen any point of time when the wedding season is on, number one.
20:49Number two, you may recall that the deceased's mother was saying that the groom wasn't very willing to go for the honeymoon immediately.
20:57He wanted to go after some time.
20:59But he was rushed into this trap.
21:01And why was there the urgency to go for the honeymoon?
21:04And Sanam herself booked all the tickets and was very keen to go to Beghalai.
21:09Then these things just do not add up.
21:12There is much more to it than is what is meeting the eye, the urgency for the wedding.
21:16The Manglick not taking the upaya and getting married very, very hastily.
21:20Then proceeding to Beghalai without, I mean, the concurrence or the absolute approval and the comfort level of the bridegroom.
21:27And then rushing there.
21:29Then being in constant touch with the mother-in-law, yet concealing the devious design that she had.
21:34It was all a ruse.
21:36And I would say that she gave the impression that she happened to be a very religious kind of a person.
21:40Being on a fast probably, 22nd May was on a card.
21:43She was on a fast and mother-in-law very affectionately concerning.
21:46Are you getting some buttermilk or some falahar?
21:48And she was, of course, very dutifully saying that, yes, there is no falahar, but she managed.
21:53All this was perhaps confidence-winning measures and confidence-winning exercises.
21:58And then what she was planning insidiously is a different story altogether.
22:02But I think it was a case of deception and they almost succeeded in their device and managed to get him into murder-most foul.
22:12Murder-most foul.
22:14Sir, stay with me because this gruesome honeymoon murder of Raja Raghuwanshi, allegedly plotted by his wife, has shocked the nation.
22:20But Sonam Raghuwanshi isn't the only such case.
22:24There have been many, many cases of black widows that have come to public light in recent years and months.
22:32For example, you remember this body of a husband that was found dismembered and put in a drum and then filled with cement and then dumped in a drain?
22:40We bring you more in this report.
22:42The honeymoon murder in Shillong has added on to a list of shocking murders which portray an unsettling pattern.
22:59Husbands killed by their wives, often aided by their alleged lovers or accomplices.
23:04On March 4th this year, Saurav Rajput returned from London to Merit to surprise his wife, Muskan Rastogi.
23:17His dismembered body was found sealed in a cement drum.
23:22Muskan Rastogi, with the help of a paramour, Sahil Shukla, allegedly stabbed Saurav to death, chopped his body and sealed the pieces in a cement-filled drum.
23:34On March 25th, Praveen faced a similar fate in Haryana's Bhivani district.
23:44His wife, Raveena, a YouTuber from Rivari, was arrested for allegedly killing him, aided by her lover, Suresh.
23:52After a confrontation with Praveen, the duo allegedly strangled him the same night.
23:57They transported the body on a motorcycle and dumped it in a drain outside the city.
24:03Suresh remains absconding.
24:09In April, the body of former Karnataka DGP, Om Prakash, was discovered in a pool of blood at his Bengaluru residence.
24:17After a heated argument, his wife, Pallavi, reportedly threw chili powder at Prakash and then allegedly stabbed him multiple times.
24:25Soon after the murder, she called a friend and allegedly said, and I quote, I have killed the monster, unquote.
24:34She also claimed that domestic violence had driven her to take the drastic step.
24:38And it was later found that Pallavi had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
24:44In August last year, a Bareilly man, Satyapal, was allegedly killed by his wife, who repeatedly smashed his head with a brick in the presence of a sub-inspector.
24:56That same month, in Delhi, Sachin Rana's 22-year-old wife allegedly stabbed him in a fit of rage and slit his neck.
25:03In October, Ramesh Kumar was killed in Karnataka, allegedly by the second wife, Niharika, with the objective of taking over 8 crore rupees worth of assets.
25:15And in December, Bhavik was killed in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, only four days after marrying Payal, who reportedly had an affair with her cousin.
25:23In this list of cases of marriage and murder, Sonam Raghuvanshi is the latest to be accused of killing her husband.
25:32Bureau Report, India Today.
25:39We will continue to track developments on the story very closely, but that is all I have for you on the news track this evening.
25:45Many thanks for watching.