"Unless She Confesses": Victim's Brother On Honeymoon Murder Accused

Vipin Raghuvanshi, brother of the man from Indore who was allegedly killed by his wife during the honeymoon in Meghalaya, indicated that he had trouble believing that Sonam Raghuvanshi had a boyfriend and that she is responsible for the murder, as is being alleged by the police. Though he had not met Raj Kushwaha, the alleged boyfriend, he had heard of him, and not in any flattering context. Sonam, he said, would always berate him for being a poor worker. Unless Sonam confesses, "we will have the doubt that she is being framed... So, we want to hear from her," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview. 

Raja Raghuvanshi, 29, and his 24-year-old wife Sonam -- newlyweds from Indore -- had arrived in Meghalaya for their honeymoon on May 21. Three days later, they went missing and on June 2, after days of search, Raja Raghuvanshi's body was recovered from a gorge beneath Weisawdong Falls in East Khasi Hills.

The man had been hacked with a machete and was hit on the head as well. The police concluded that his wife was involved. 

Sonam Raghuvanshi was arrested earlier today from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. The Meghalaya police suspect that she was having an affair and her boyfriend is also involved. The police said she had orchestrated the murder in connivance with her boyfriend, Raj 
Kushwaha, and hired contract killers to execute it. 

Asked whether he believed the Meghalaya police's contention that Sonam Raghuvanshi was behind the murder, called in contract killers, and that her boyfriend masterminded it, Vipin Raghuvanshi said he "never thought anything like this could happen".

"I don't know how long she knew Raj. But it is possible she knew him for a long time. He is an employee in her company and has been working there for 4-5 years. And I had heard of him and complaints about him -- that he is not working properly,' he said.

In the beginning of his acquaintance with Sonam, Mr Raghuvanshi said he had heard her complain frequently about Raj.

"She used to scold him a lot -- saying You are not working properly, not focusing on your job, did you come here depending on us' - that kind of stuff. So because I heard this, I never thought anything like this could happen. The other names that have come up -- I do not know them at all," he added. 

Asked whether he felt Sonal was guilty, he said, "We have our doubts. We cannot say for certain unless she is questioned properly and says anything, we will have the doubt that she is being framed. I still feel that those people framed her. So we want to hear from her, unless she confesses, how can we accept it?"