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A civilisational crisis of unknown magnitude is unfolding before our eyes, ignored by the family(s) and society where this development is taking place; social and religious reformers (if any exist amidst the burgeoning army of frivolous social media influencers); the entire judicial fraternity; and the political class. We are witnessing the rise of a new tribe: Asuric women for whom cultural norms are disposable irritants in the way of satisfying an infatuation, fetish, or appetite.
Sonam Raghuvanshi epitomises this new breed of Indian womanhood, but is neither the first nor will she be the last. The saving grace in this episode is the alacrity with which the Meghalaya Police solved the case and saved the honour of their State, and the moral stance taken by her brothers in the face of fairly convincing evidence.
When Raja Raghuvanshi, 29, an Indore-based businessman, and his bride, Sonam, went missing on their honeymoon in Meghalaya, the truth exposed a “murder of trust” within the most intimate of human relationships, and destroyed at least six families: the family of the groom, the family of the bride, the families of the four killers. The story raises fundamental questions about how individuals today contemplate murder with shocking equanimity.
According to available accounts, Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam had an arranged marriage on May 11, 2025, and went to Meghalaya for their honeymoon on May 21, 2025. When they were reported missing on May 23, the hapless State and its people were subjected to a barrage of hostility from social media accounts presumed to be based in North India. The charges were so ugly that as the truth became known, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava apologised for the damage done to the State’s image and its tourism. He said tourists are safe in the north-east. Sonam’s brother Govind and Sachin Raghuvanshi, Raja’s elder brother, also apologised for their harsh language against Meghalaya, its government, and the police investigations there.
Eventually, with the help of local search parties, Raja’s body was found on June 02, 2025, in a gorge near a waterfall in Sohra region (Cherrapunji), East Khasi Hills district.
As the case quickly unravelled, Meghalaya police assessed that Sonam planned the murder with her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha, and to that effect booked a one-way ticket to Meghalaya. The speedy action of the Meghalaya police forced Sonam, who planned to remain in hiding for a month, to surface and claim to have been drugged, with no clue how she ended up in Ghazipur, UP.
Regardless of how the murder case fares in the courts, this is the point where society (and eventually the law) must ask questions. Raja’s elder brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, told the Aaj Tak news channel that, according to a close friend of the bride’s family, Sonam had told her mother about her relationship with Raj Kushwaha, and warned that something bad would happen if she was pressured to marry Raja. It appears that her family refused to accept the out-of-caste relationship.
The questions that arise are manifold. First, if Sonam was bold enough to enter into a relationship that she knew her family would disapprove of, callous enough to plan the cold- blooded murder of her prospective husband before the wedding, and financially empowered enough to pay for the killers’ tickets and offer them a huge sum of money (Rs 15 lakhs per reports) to execute the deal, why couldn’t she tell the Raghuvanshi family about her love affair and call the wedding off?
Second, Sonam’s mother must explain why she did not confide her “caste is all-important” view with the Raghuvanshi family. Caste may have some value for them as well, but would they go ahead with a relationship ig the bride wanted to marry someone else?
Third, can we consider a law in which such disclosures are mandatory and concealing the same is a crime? If the non-disclosure results in a tragedy as in the case of the Raja Raghuvanshi, the bride’s parents must be charged as accessories to the crime, because it is impossible to believe that they did not know. If the husband discovers that a previous relationship has not been ended and is impacting his marital ties (several such cases have come to light in recent times), this should be ground for prompt annulment or divorce without financial liability.
Meghalaya Police deduced that Sonan returned to Indore via Siliguri on May 25, dodged her family, and stayed with Raj Kushwaha in a rented accommodation. They later travelled to Ghazipur, UP, via Varanasi. The police found her here at a roadside dhaba on June 10, 2025.
Details of the gruesome crime need not detain us here, but another amazing question arises: when Raj Kushwaha, just 21 years old, asked his childhood friends, Akash Rajpoot (19), Vishal Singh Chauhan (22), and Anand Kuli (23) to help him to murder Raja, how and why did they agree? This willingness of ordinary citizens to participate in chilling crimes that have no connection with their lives deserves investigation. Why did no one blow the whistle?
When caught, Raj Kushwaha claimed he didn’t want to execute the plot and cancelled plans to go to Meghalaya. He allegedly advised the three others not to go, but they went to see Meghalaya after Sonam booked their tickets. Even at the last moment, the three allegedly refused to kill the newlywed husband, but were pressured by Sonam who offered ₹15 lakhs for the murder. Police, however, found that Raj Kushwaha stayed in touch with Sonam via phone, throughout the time and also coordinated with the three contract killers.
The Superintendent of Police of East Khasi Hills, Vivek Syiem, informed the media that Raja was murdered with a dao (machete) made in Assam (not Meghalaya) – the first clue that this was a premeditated crime. The State Police realised on June 03, 2025 that Sonam was involved and established that she was seen with the accused 10 kilometres away from the site where her husband was killed. The arrested accused stated that she had asked them to hit Raja Raghuvanshi and that he was killed in front of her.
Sharing the grief of Raja Raghuvanshi’s mother, Sonam’s brother, Govind, said, “I stand with Raja Raghuvanshi, and I will fight this battle for him. Even my parents have accepted the truth, they didn’t know anything before, but after finding out, they themselves decided to boycott Sonam. I have apologised to Raja’s family, and I will always stand by them. We will make sure that Sonam is punished, and we will appoint a lawyer to take legal action against her.”
If crimes against women have not abated, the past decade has seen a sharp rise in crimes by women and the misuse of law by women. A rather novel crime includes entrapping a man to a date at a remote restaurant, in connivance with the staff. Though probably the least harmful scam, it involves the young lady arriving early and working up a huge bill for drinks and food. After a man joins, the lady goes to the washroom and disappears while he is presented with an exorbitant bill. Threatened by staff, there is no option but to pay up and draw the appropriate lesson.
A large number of crimes relate to allegations of rape on grounds of promise to marry, even when the couple has been in a consensual live-in relationship for several years. Courts have now begun to look at these cases with suspicion.
By far the worst abuse of law can be seen in acrimonious divorce cases in which the girl and her family (mis)use every law on the statute to take revenge on the boy, demanding alimony and compensation far in excess of his known sources of income. Aided by competent lawyers and kind-hearted judges, these women have been making a killing, often to the extent of making the former husband lose financial stability.
These extractions have led many young men to commit suicide, often to save their family members from being harassed via false police cases. Cases of abetment to suicide are in order in all such instances. Further, while tax-free alimony may be a boon to needy women with children, the law needs to consider if such tax-free bounty can in fairness be higher than the man’s leftover income which is subject to tax. This seems contrary to the principles of natural justice.
There is an urgent need to tabulate the growing crimes committed by women and do justice to their victims. The Indian Constitution is founded on the principle of equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sex, caste, or religion. Sadistic women cannot be allowed to get away with their crimes.
References
1] SP who led Raja Raghuvanshi murder probe rubbishes Sonam’s claim of being drugged
New Delhi | Updated: June 11, 2025.
2] Meghalaya murder case: Sonam Raghuvanshi offered ₹20 lakh to husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s killers, police reveal, HT News Desk, Jun 11, 2025
3] Sonam told her family about lover before marrying Raja, warned…: Raja’s brother
4] Cops Knew Sonam Raghuvanshi Was Behind Meghayala Honeymoon Murder Days Before She Surrendered, NDTV, Jun 10, 2025.
5] Meghalaya honeymoon horror: Police to reconstruct crime scene with deceased’s arrested wife, aides, PTI, June 11, 2025.
6] Regret if Raja Raghuvanshi murder case hit Meghalaya’s image: Indore mayor, PTI, June 11, 2025.
7] Meghalaya honeymoon murder: Sonam’s brother supports Raja Raghuvanshi’s family; to fight to get them justice, New Indian Express, June 12, 2025.
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