72-hour transit remand for Indore woman accused in husband's murder on honeymoon

Sonam Raghuvanshi, the woman accused of hiring hitmen to kill her husband Raja Raghuvanshi while they were on honeymoon in Meghalaya, has been sent to a 72-hour transit remand after surrendering in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

The remand order came late on Monday night, after Shillong police produced Sonam Raghuvanshi in the District Judge's court.

After hearing the arguments from Shillong police, the 72-hour remand was approved.

Sonam, who got married to Raja Raghuvanshi in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on May 10 and reached Meghalaya for her honeymoon on May 21, surrendered in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur early on Monday after days of search.

The development came a week after Raja was found dead in a deep gorge in a hilly forest area near Cherrapunji, as the local police and authorities launched search operations to trace the couple, who were earlier reported to be "missing".

After the discovery of Raja Raghuvansi's body, the Shillong police claimed that he might have been murdered, ruling out speculation that he met with an accident or fell victim to any other unfortunate incident.

After she surrendered to the UP police, Sonam confessed that she hired contract killers to eliminate Raja. Four men, including a man named Raj Kushwaha with whom the woman had an affair, were arrested for allegedly killing her husband.

Apart from Kushwaha, the other three men arrested for allegedly killing Raja have been identified as Aakash Rajpoot, Vikas alias Vicky, and Anand.

An autopsy report on Monday confirmed multiple sharp injuries to Raja's body, with two major wounds - one on the front of his head and another on the back. According to East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem, the murder weapon was identified as a tool typically used to chop trees.

Meanwhile, Sonam's father has rejected the murder-for-hire allegations, claiming the Meghalaya Police are fabricating the case. He has demanded a CBI inquiry and alleged that Sonam told him she was kidnapped and robbed in Meghalaya and had no memory of how she ended up in Uttar Pradesh.