In what started as a newlywed honeymoon trip, a horrific story of betrayal, deceit, and premeditated murder has shaken Indore and Meghalaya alike. The brutal killing of transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi has revealed a murder plot so deeply layered, it feels like a crime thriller—except it’s all real.
At the heart of it is his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, who, within days of marrying Raja, allegedly began planning his murder. Not once, not twice—but five separate times.
Now, Sonam, her lover Raj Kushwaha, and three others are in police custody, and the investigation has uncovered a horrifying level of planning and cold-blooded execution.
A Chilling Revelation
Police say Sonam had no intention of continuing her marriage. Within days of their wedding on May 11, she and her lover began working on ways to get Raja out of the picture permanently. The couple had reportedly tried to call off the wedding before it happened, but when that didn’t work, they chose violence.
After three failed murder attempts, the fourth finally worked.
On a scenic honeymoon trip to Sohra (Cherrapunji), Sonam and her accomplices took Raja to the Weisawdong waterfall, a secluded spot in Meghalaya’s hills. There, they brutally killed him and dumped his body into a deep gorge. The body was discovered by the police on June 2.
She Wanted to Vanish — Even Planned Her Own ‘Death’
After Raja’s murder, Sonam disappeared — only to be found semi-conscious days later in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. At first, she claimed she had been kidnapped during a robbery. She tried to paint herself as a victim.
But once police brought her face-to-face with Raj Kushwaha in Shillong, she broke down and confessed to the crime, revealing everything — including a twisted plan to fake her own death.
Police say Sonam had plotted to murder another woman, burn her body with a scooter or dump it in a river, so investigators would believe she too had been killed — and disappear forever with Raj.
From Guwahati to Dawki: The Five Failed or Planned Murder Attempts
The level of planning Sonam Raghuvanshi and her lover invested in this murder is chilling. Here’s how the five murder plots unfolded, according to the police:
First Attempt – Guwahati: Their initial plan was to kill Raja in Assam’s capital, but the conditions weren’t right, and they backed out.
Second Attempt – Nongriat: The couple lured Raja to Nongriat, famous for its double-decker root bridge. They planned to kill him there, but couldn’t find a suitable place to hide the body.
Third Attempt – Between Mawalkhiat and Weisawdong: They then tried to kill Raja while he was using the bathroom in a remote area. But again, they panicked due to the risk of being caught.
Fourth Attempt – Weisawdong (Successful): Finally, the plan succeeded in Weisawdong. The group attacked Raja, killed him, and dumped his body into a gorge. This was the plan that ended his life.
Fifth Plan – Dawki (Backup Plan): If things had gone wrong at Weisawdong, Sonam was ready to take Raja to Dawki, near the Bangladesh border, and kill him near the Umngot River, dumping his body there instead.
A Calculated Crime, But No Escape
From the chats between Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj, police found messages showing her discomfort around Raja and a growing urge to eliminate him. She even told her mother about her affair, trying to get out of the marriage.
But once married, her approach turned fatal.
Even after meticulously planning every detail—from location and disposal to faking her own death—Sonam couldn’t escape the law. Her arrest has brought some closure to Raja’s grieving family, who are now hoping the court system will give them justice for the son they lost so cruelly.
This case is still under investigation, and more revelations may follow as the police dig deeper. For now, it serves as a grim reminder of how love, when twisted by obsession and hatred, can turn into something truly monstrous.
