Shillong/Indore: Meghalaya Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) has apprehended two more individuals in Madhya Pradesh in connection with the murder of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, bringing the total arrests in the case to seven.
The arrests were made on Saturday night as the investigation deepened into the gruesome killing that has shocked the nation.
A property dealer, Silome James, was detained at Bhonrasa toll-gate in Dewas district while attempting to flee to Bhopal.
James, who is a lessee of a building in Heera Bagh Colony, Indore, had allegedly helped conceal evidence linked to the crime.
“James hid a box belonging to Raghuvanshi’s wife, Sonam, in a flat in Indore after the murder. This box is believed to have contained critical evidence, including a firearm, jewelry, and a laptop,” said Vivek Syiem, Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills district.
The second suspect, a security guard named Balla Ahirwar, was arrested early Sunday morning from his village in Ashok Nagar district, Madhya Pradesh.
Both suspects will be presented before an Indore court, where Meghalaya Police will seek transit remand to bring them to Shillong for further questioning.
The SIT discovered that the concealed box had been destroyed, with James allegedly burning its contents. Forensic experts have been deployed to the site to collect residual evidence. However, no trace of the firearm, laptop, or jewelry linked to the case has been found so far.
The investigation has revealed a web of conspiracy, with Sonam and her alleged lover, Raj Kushwaha, at its center. Sonam reportedly stayed in the flat rented by co-accused Vishal Chauhan after returning from Meghalaya and before surrendering to Uttar Pradesh Police on June 8.
Raghuvanshi’s tragic murder occurred during a honeymoon trip to Meghalaya, just days after his marriage to Sonam on May 11.
On May 23, Raghuvanshi was brutally attacked with machetes and killed near a parking lot close to Weisawdong Falls in Sohra.
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His mutilated body was discovered on June 2 in a gorge near the waterfall.
Sonam, along with Kushwaha and his three associates—Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi—had been arrested earlier and are currently in judicial custody in Meghalaya.
Investigators believe Sonam and Kushwaha orchestrated the murder to eliminate Raghuvanshi.
The SIT is meticulously piecing together evidence to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy, including possible financial motives and the involvement of accomplices.
