Raja Raghuvanshi murder: 8 accused nabbed for evidence tampering

Shillong, June 24: One more person has been arrested in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case taking the number of accused persons now under custody to eight.

Lokendra Singh Tomar, a resident of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh was apprehended from Gwalior by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) of Meghalaya with the help of Gwalior police on Monday afternoon.

Tomar is the landlord of the apartment at Dewas Naka where Sonam had taken shelter while hiding in Indore. “The accused is wanted in connection with the destruction and concealment of materials, evidence, which were vital to the case,” the police official said.

The accused person had left Madhya Pradesh on June 16 for Uttarakhand and then left for Gwalior on June 22. SIT personnel have gone from Indore to Gwalior to arrest him. He will be produced before the local court in Gwalior for transit remand.

On Sunday, the SIT arrested two other persons – Silome James and Balla Ahirwar. Both the accused have been arrested for destruction of evidence.

James is the property dealer and lessee of the building at Heera Bagh Colony, Indore where Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the case and another accused stayed.

Ahirwar is the security guard of the building. He assisted James in destroying some of the material evidence – jewellery, laptop, mobile and cash, which were left at the rented apartment by Sonam.

All three accused are likely to be brought to Shillong soon.

Raja's family seek narco-analysis test on Sonam, Raj Kushwaha

Meanwhile, Raja Raghuvanshi’s elder brother on Monday said that his family will approach the Meghalaya High Court for narco-analysis tests on prime accused in the case Sonam and her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha.

Besides Sonam, wife of Raja Raghuvanshi, and Kushwaha, six others have been arrested by the Meghalaya police for the sensational murder, which took place in May when the newly-married couple was on a honeymoon trip to the northeastern state.

Raja Raghuvanshi’s elder brother Vipin said, “The motive behind my brother’s murder is still unclear. Narco tests on Sonam and Kushwaha can provide clues about it. Therefore, we will soon file a petition in the Meghalaya High Court for conducting narco tests on both accused.”

Apart from the alleged ‘love triangle’, the motive behind the murder could be to gain huge financial benefits for the accused, he suspected.

- With inputs from PTI