Two of the three men who helped Sonam Raghuvanshi murder her husband Raja Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya last month have retracted their earlier “confessions” and refused to testify against themselves before the magistrate, police said.
Herbert Pyniaid Kharkongor, who is the Shillong City Superintendent of Police and is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing the murder, said Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi remained silent and refused to make any statements when they were produced before the magistrate on Thursday.
“We sent only two of the (five) accused to the magistrate. They did not want to make any statement. We have ample material evidence against them. We are also waiting for the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report,” Mr Kharkongor said.
The Meghalaya Police earlier claimed that all the accused have confessed to the crime.
Mr Kharkongor pointed out that police confessions are not admissible in the court. “It is their right to not make a confessional statement. But material evidence are also very important. There is no issue. We have evidence in the case,” he said.
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Statements recorded under Section 180 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) assist officials during the course of investigation and cross-examination but only those recorded before a magistrate under Section 183 carry weight in the court.
Besides Anand and Akash, Vishal Singh Chauhan assisted Sonam and her lover, Raj Kushwaha, to murder her newly-wed husband Raja during their honeymoon in Meghalaya last month.
The case initially began as that of a “missing couple”, after 29-year-old Raja and 24-year-old Sonam could not be traced in the northeastern state, but took a tragic turn and revealed a shocking betrayal.
The couple – both from Indore – got married on May 11. According to the police, the wedding took place despite Sonam’s relationship with Raj, who worked as an accountant at the furniture sheet unit owned by her family. Sonam used to look after the family business.
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After their wedding in Indore, Raja and Sonam travelled to Meghalaya for honeymoon. They disappeared on May 23, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where Raja’s body was found on June 2.
Amid an intense search for “missing” Sonam, she surfaced in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur on June 8 and later surrendered at Nandganj police station. This came hours after Akash, Vishal, and Anand were arrested from Uttar Pradesh and Indore and Sagar towns (in Madhya Pradesh). Raj was arrested later.
On June 11, Sonam reportedly confessed to killing her husband. Police said her cousin, Jitendra Raghuvanshi, had cleared the first installment of payment to Anand, Akash and Vishal.
Sonam’s brother Govind said his family has snapped all ties with her. He also expressed solidarity with Raja’s grieving family members and vowed to help them in their fight for justice in a case which has shocked the nation.
On Tuesday, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who also holds the Home portfolio, said the police are looking beyond the love affair angle with three more arrests in the case.
The three people who were arrested are Lokendra Singh Tomar, believed to be the owner of the flat where Sonam stayed between May 26 and June 8 after returning to Indore from Meghalaya, property dealer Silome James who had rented out the concerned flat to Vishal and Balbir Ahirbar, alias ‘Ballu’, a security guard in the area.
