Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder: Indore Property Dealer Held For Concealing Evidence

The Meghalaya police have arrested a property dealer from Indore for allegedly concealing crucial evidence in the case of murder of local businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, an official said on Sunday. The property dealer allegedly concealed a bag belonging to Raghuvanshi's wife Sonam, who hid it in a flat here after the incident, according to police sources.

Indore-based transport businessman Raghuvanshi married Sonam on May 11 here and the couple left for their honeymoon in Meghalaya on May 20.

Raghuvanshi went missing on May 23 and his mutilated body was recovered on June 2 from a deep gorge near a waterfall in the Sohra area of East Khasi Hills district, also known as Cherrapunji. Sonam, accused of conspiring with her alleged lover to kill her husband, surrendered on June 8 before police in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district, while four other accused have been arrested from different locations in MP and UP.

"The Meghalaya police have arrested Shilom James, a property businessman from Indore, for allegedly hiding evidence related to Raja Raghuvanshi murder case," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotiya told PTI. James is accused of concealing a bag belonging Sonam at a flat in Indore's Dewas Naka locality after the killing. The bag is believed to have contained key evidence linked to the murder, according to sources.

The flat was rented out to murder co-accused Vishal Chauhan by James, who runs a property management firm in Indore, they said. On June 13, James told mediapersons that Chauhan approached him on May 30 and rented the flat for Rs 17,000 per month, signing a formal agreement. However, when the Meghalaya police later searched the flat, it was found vacant, as per the sources.

Sonam is believed to have stayed in the flat for several days on return from Meghalaya, before eventually surrendering to police in UP on June 8, the sources said. The Meghalaya police had earlier arrested five persons in connection with the murder - Sonam, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha and the latter's three friends Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi.

The five are currently in judicial custody and lodged at jail in Meghalaya. The case is being probed in detail by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya police.