Meghalaya Police Arrest Two More Accused in Raja Raghuvanshi Murder Case

The Meghalaya Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested two additional suspects in connection with the brutal murder of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to seven. The latest arrests were made in Madhya Pradesh, as the SIT intensifies its probe into the shocking murder that has garnered nationwide attention.

The arrests took place on Saturday night. One of the arrested individuals, property dealer Silome James, was caught at the Bhonrasa toll-gate in Dewas district while trying to escape to Bhopal. James, who leases a building in Indore’s Heera Bagh Colony, is accused of aiding in the destruction and concealment of key evidence related to the crime. According to Vivek Syiem, Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills, James had hidden a box belonging to Raja Raghuvanshi’s wife, Sonam, inside a flat in Indore following the murder. This box reportedly contained vital evidence, including a firearm, jewelry, and a laptop. However, investigators later found that the box had been destroyed and its contents allegedly burned by James. Forensic experts have been deployed to the site to recover any remaining evidence, though none of the key items have been recovered so far.

The second suspect, Balla Ahirwar, a security guard, was arrested early Sunday morning from his village in the Ashok Nagar district of Madhya Pradesh. Both James and Ahirwar are to be produced before a court in Indore, where the Meghalaya Police will seek a transit remand to transfer them to Shillong for further interrogation.

The ongoing investigation has unraveled a complex web of conspiracy centering around Sonam, the wife of the victim, and her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha. Investigators believe that Sonam and Kushwaha planned and executed the murder of Raghuvanshi, possibly driven by personal and financial motives. After returning from Meghalaya, Sonam is said to have stayed in a flat rented by co-accused Vishal Chauhan before surrendering to the Uttar Pradesh Police on June 8.

Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered during a honeymoon trip to Meghalaya, shortly after his wedding to Sonam on May 11. On May 23, he was brutally attacked with machetes and killed near a parking lot close to Weisawdong Falls in Sohra (Cherrapunji). His mutilated body was discovered ten days later, on June 2, inside a gorge near the same waterfall.

Earlier, the Meghalaya Police had arrested five people in connection with the case: Sonam, Raj Kushwaha, and his three associates—Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi. All five are currently in judicial custody in Meghalaya.

The SIT is now working meticulously to uncover the full scope of the crime, including the destruction of evidence, financial links, and the involvement of additional accomplices. The case has highlighted serious issues of betrayal and premeditated violence and continues to unfold as police deepen their investigation into one of the most disturbing murder cases in recent memory.