Meghalaya Police files 790-page chargesheet in Raja Raghuvanshi murder case

The Meghalaya Police on Saturday filed a 790-page chargesheet in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case against five accused in the Judicial Magistrate First 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 have named Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Ashish Singh Rajput, and Aanand Kurmi as key accused in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case. They have been booked under Sections 103 (1), 238 (a)/ and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to Meghalaya Police, Raja Raghuwanshi and his wife Sonam, residents of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, had travelled to Shillong on May 21, 2025, for their honeymoon and then went on to Sohra in Cherrapunji. On May 26, the couple was reportedly missing from Sohra. Accordingly, a search operation was launched immediately to find the duo.

"After several days of intensive search by Sohra police, Special Operations Team (SOT), NDRF, SDRF, trekking groups and local people from surrounding villages, Raja’s body was found on June 2 from a deep gorge at Arliang Riat Kunongrim, Umblai, near Wei Sawdong in Sohra. In this connection, a case was registered under Sections 103(1), 238(a), 309(6) and 3(6) of the BNS Act," the press release added.

"A 790-page charge sheet against the arrested accused along with substantial material evidence and enclosures has been filed," the press release said.

Sonam, who had been missing for many days, was later found near a roadside dhaba along the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway.

As part of its investigation, the Meghalaya Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) reconstructed the crime scene in Sohra in the presence of the accused, Sonam, and three others.