A Crime For Friendship? The 3 'Contract Killers' Who Murdered Indore Man

The sinister murder plan of Raja Raghuvanshi, an Indore-based businessman during his honeymoon, was allegedly hatched by his wife and her lover - who hired three 'contract killers'. Now, a new twist in the case suggests that the three killers are not really assassins but the lover, Raj Kushwaha's friends.

Police have arrested Sonam Raghuvanshi - the prime accused for her husband's murder, her lover Raj - the mastermind behind the killing, and his three friends - who carried out the murder. Sonam surrendered before the police when she was found in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur on Saturday night, and the three accused were subsequently arrested.

Who are the three killers?

The three accused have been identified as - Anand Kumri, Akash Rajput, and Vicky Thakur.

All of them are residents of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.

Anand Kumri (23) was arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Bina district.

Akash Rajput (19) was arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Lalitpur district.

Vicky Thakur (22) was arrested from Madhya Pradesh's Indore.

The murder

The newly-wed couple, Raja and Sonam, had left for Meghalaya on May 20, days after their May 11 wedding in Indore. The couple went missing on May 28 when they were on their way to a tourist spot in the northeastern state. A scooter that they had rented was found abandoned at Sohrarim a day after they went missing.

Officials said that on May 16, Raj met his childhood friends (the three killers) in a cafe in Indore to plan the murder. He had lured them with money, they said. Raj sent his three friends to Meghalaya on May 20, when Sonam and her husband left for their honeymoon.

All this while, Sonam's lover Raj Kushwaha was not in the scene. He did not travel to Meghalaya, but Shillong Police sources suggest he did the planning behind the scenes and was in touch with Sonam. On the day of the murder, Sonam took her husband to a deserted road where the three killers attacked him.

Ten days later, Raja's body was recovered from a deep gorge beneath the Weisawdong Parking Lot at Riat Arliang. A machete, suspected to be the murder weapon, was also recovered. Raja's preliminary autopsy report revealed that he was attacked twice - once each on the back and front of his head.

At the time, Sonam had also gone missing, prompting a multi-state search.

Weeks later, the 24-year-old 'missing' wife was found in an unconscious state on Saturday night at a 'dhaba' in Ghazipur. She was taken to the Ghazipur Medical College for treatment, where she surrendered before the police, and was subsequently taken into custody.