Court grants bail to accused Sonam Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya honeymoon murder case

A local court on Tuesday granted bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, who is accused of getting her husband Raja Raghuvanshi killed during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. The court approved the bail plea subject to several conditions, including that the accused shall not abscond, tamper with evidence, or influence witnesses. Furthermore, she is required to attend every court hearing, remain within the court's jurisdiction unless permitted otherwise, and execute a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties of a like amount.

The development has drawn a sharp reaction from the victim's family, who raised questions regarding the conduct of the Meghalaya Police and the judiciary. The family expressed grave apprehension over a potential threat to their lives if the remaining accused, Raj Kushwaha, Vishal, and Akash, secure bail in the future. Uma Raghuvanshi, the mother of Raja Raghuvanshi, demanded a CBI inquiry into the case and declared that she has lost trust in the justice system.

"If these murderers can do this to my child, they can do it to anyone. We had faith that we would get justice. If we don't get justice, our faith is gone because they will kill anyone, and then get released again. We want a CBI investigation. The mistakes made should be brought to light through a CBI investigation. How did Sonam come out? When she committed such a serious crime, how can she get bail?... Initially, the police in Meghalaya did a good investigation, but later, I feel like there was a lapse in the investigation, or something went wrong. We only want one demand: we want a CBI investigation. We will stand up for justice again and fight for justice..." Uma told ANI. Raja Raghuvanshi's brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, declared that they will appeal to the High Court against this decision.

"I found out about it an hour and a half ago when I spoke with the lawyer in my case. He said that Sonam has been granted bail... Her condition is that Sonam will have to stay in Shillong... The remaining four accused, Akash, Anand, Vishal and Raj, have not been granted bail yet... I had objected three times before this that the bail should not be granted. The lawyer kept hiding things from me. We will appeal to the High Court to cancel her bail... Sonam's brother Govind has met Sonam several times in jail..." Vipin told ANI. However, the accused's brother, Govind declared that he won't support his sister in any manner.

"I also learned that Sonam has been granted bail, but the court order is still pending... We don't have a private lawyer yet. The lawyer allotted through the government is currently engaged. I don't know when she'll be released, where she'll be staying, or whether she'll be in Shillong or not... Before meeting Sonam in jail, I had clearly told him (Raja's brother) that I had some paperwork-related stuff. I had clearly told them beforehand... We won't keep her in the house right now. That's not a possibility... If it's the government's decision, I won't say anything about it... If my parents want to bring her home. I won't be staying at home... There's a process; they (Raja's family) should go to the High Court if they want to go...," said Govind. Earlier, the Meghalaya Police filed the chargesheet in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case against five accused in the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Sohra Sub-division Court in Shillong.

Along with the chargesheet, substantial material evidence and enclosures have also been filed in the court. The police named Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Ashish Singh Rajput, and Aanand Kurmi as key accused in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case and have been booked under Section 103 (1) 238 (a)/ 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Raja Raghuvanshi, a newlywed who went to Meghalaya on his honeymoon along with his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi, was found dead in a gorge near Sohra (Cherrapunji) on June 2, this year.

Sonam, who had been missing for many days, was later found near a roadside dhaba along the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway. The couple, both residents of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, had gone missing during their honeymoon trip to Meghalaya. Later, as part of its investigation, the Meghalaya Police SIT reconstructed the crime scene as part of its investigation into the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi. The murder scene was recreated by the SIT team in Sohra in the presence of the accused, Sonam Raghuvanshi, and three others. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)