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Sonam surrendered to police and has been named the prime suspect. She has been arrested along with four other accused including Raj, her alleged boyfriend.

More than 15 days after an Indore couple was reported missing and eight days after Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was discovered on 2 June, Sonam Raghuvanshi was arrested on Monday, 9 June.

Raja’s body was found in a gorge in Meghalaya, while Sonam, initially believed to be missing, was found at a ‘dhaba’ (roadside restaurant) in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, over 1,200 kilometres away.

She reportedly surrendered to police and has been named the prime suspect. Police arrested Sonam, her alleged boyfriend, Raj, and three others in connection with the case.

According to the FIR filed by Raja’s brother, the couple arrived in Shillong on 21 May and travelled to Sohra on 22 May after hiring a scooter. The family lost contact with them the same day. Raja’s body was discovered in a decomposed state on 2 June.

A senior Uttar Pradesh police official confirmed Sonam was found near a dhaba on the Varanasi-Ghazipur main road on Monday. Dhaba owner Sahil Yadav stated she approached him for assistance, requested a mobile phone, and then made a call. “I asked her to sit there (pointing to a chair nearby). I called the police, they came, and they took her away," Yadav told News18.

Speaking to IANS, Yadav revealed that when he inquired about her situation, Sonam recounted her husband’s death. “She and her husband had gone to Meghalaya for their honeymoon, and Raja was killed while trying to protect her from a group of men who attempted to snatch her jewellery," he said, adding that she “did not remember how she got to Uttar Pradesh".

CCTV footage has also emerged, showing the couple on a motorbike. The purported video is from 22 May, before Raja’s murder.

First Published:

June 09, 2025, 20:17 IST