Photo Of 4 Raja Raghuvanshi Murder Accused In Police Custody Surfaces

Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauha and Anand Kurmi - these are the four men who helped Sonam Raghuvanshi kill her husband, Raja, in Meghalaya last month, days after their wedding in Madhya Pradesh. 

According to the police, Sonam had hired the three hitmen - Akash, Vishal and Anand - for the murder and Raj, her lover, was the main conspirator. All the five accused have been arrested, and a photo of the four men in police custody have been released. 

In the photo, the man dressed in a white shirt and blue denims - on the extreme left - is Raj, Sonam's boyfriend. He was not present in Meghalaya but, according to the police, was the main conspirator.

Next to him are Anand (biege-coloured t-shirt and denims) and Akash (black t-shirt and white trousers) - among the two hitmen who helped Sonam get rid of her husband. 

On the extreme right is Vishal Thakur (chequered shirt and black trousers), who was the first one to attack Raja with a machete, according to the police. 

Twenty-four-year-old Sonam and 29-year-old Raja got married on May 11. According to the police, the wedding took place despite Sonam's relationship with Raj, who worked as an accountant at the furniture sheet unit owned by her family. Sonam used to look after the family business.

After their wedding in Indore, Raja and Sonam travelled to Meghalaya for honeymoon. They disappeared on May 23, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where Raja's body was found on June 2.

Amid an intense search for "missing" Sonam, she surfaced in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur on Sunday night and later surrendered at Nandganj police station. This came hours after Akash, Vishal, and Anand were arrested from Uttar Pradesh and Indore and Sagar towns (in Madhya Pradesh). Raj was arrested later.

Police sources said Sonam offered Rs 20 lakh to the accused to carry out the crime, although an official confirmation or statement in this regard is awaited. 

On Wednesday, Sonam reportedly confessed to killing her husband in Meghalaya. Her brother Govind said his family has snapped all ties with his sister and expressed solidarity with Raja's grieving family members and vowed to help them in their fight for justice in a case which has shocked the nation.

Govind also demanded that his sister be hanged if found guilty.