The alleged killers of Raja Raghuvanshi, whose body was found in the forested hills of Meghalaya, were nabbed in a multi-state police operation involving cops from Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh.
Early Monday morning, Meghalaya director-general of police I. Nonrong said Raghuvanshi was allegedly killed by men hired by his wife during their honeymoon.
The DGP told PTI that Raghuvanshi’s wife, Sonam, surrendered before police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, while three other assailants were arrested in overnight raids.
"One person was picked up from UP, and another two accused were apprehended from Indore by the SIT," the DGP said. "The operation is still continuing in Madhya Pradesh to catch some more persons involved in the crime," she said.
Sonam, 24, a resident of Govind Nagar in Indore, was found late on Sunday night at Kashi Dhaba located along the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway, according to the office of ADG (law and order), Uttar Pradesh. She was initially sent to Sadar Hospital for preliminary treatment and has now been placed in a One Stop Centre, according to PTI.
Raghuvanshi, who was in the transport business, and Sonam went missing while vacationing in Meghalaya's Sohra area on May 23. His body was found in a gorge on June 2.
Three people were detained from Indore and surrounding areas in connection with the alleged murder, the Indore police commissioner, Santosh Kumar Singh, said on Monday. The Indore police assisted their counterparts in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district in the operation late Sunday night, Singh said.
"The Meghalaya police have detained three persons from Indore and its surrounding areas in connection with the murder of transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi," he told PTI.
Singh said the Meghalaya police will give elaborate details on Raghuvanshi's killing.
Raja and Sonam got married on May 11. He and his wife left for Meghalaya on May 20 for their honeymoon. They reached Mawlakhiat village in the north-eastern state on May 22 on a rented scooter. On May 24, their scooter was found abandoned at a cafe along the road from Shillong to Sohra, following which the search for them began.
The twist in the tale emerged on Sunday when a tourist guide claimed that Raja and Sonam were accompanied by three men on the day they went missing.
(With agency inputs)