Police in India say a lady who went missing after her husband was murdered during their honeymoon is in custody after turning herself in.
Based on the BBC, relatives of the couple believed the wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, 25, was dead or had been abducted and launched a large-scale campaign to locate her after she and her husband disappeared while on their honeymoon.
Now, police allege that she hired hitmen to kill her husband, Raja, 30, during a vacation to Meghalaya, a small state in northeastern India.
4 men have also been arrested in reference to the crime.
On Monday, Devi Singh, Sonam’s father, maintained his daughter’s innocence, telling reporters in India, “She cannot do that,” adding that he believes police are lying about what occurred and that they played a task within the murder case that has gripped India.
Before Sonam’s arrest, Raja’s brother Sachin Raghuvanshi told the BBC that the newly married couple selected to travel to Meghalaya for his or her honeymoon because they’d heard it had “very beautiful valleys.”
A living roots bridge over a river in a deep forest surrounded by flora on a dull, overcast day in Khasi hills near the village of Riwai, Shillong, Meghalaya, India.
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The pair, from Indore city, were married on May 11, each families having approved their union.
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“Their marriage was arranged 4 months back and so they were each completely happy and there had been no fights between the couple before or after marriage,” Raja’s other brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, told the BBC.
The newlyweds set off on their honeymoon on May 20 but went missing 4 days later, prompting a widespread rescue mission through wild terrain.
After per week of searching, Raja’s body was discovered in a gorge. His throat had been slit and his wallet in addition to a gold ring and chain were missing. Meanwhile, Sonam was nowhere to be found.
Their families launched a joint campaign against the Meghalaya police, accusing the authorities of not doing enough to locate Sonam or uncover the circumstances surrounding Raja’s death, and demanded that the case be handed over to federal investigators.
Additionally they penned a letter to India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, asking him to assist bring justice for the couple, the BBC reported.
On Monday morning, the director general of Meghalaya police, Idashisha Nongrang, said Sonam had turned herself in to state authorities.
Three additional suspects, who’re also from the couple’s home state of Madhya Pradesh, have been arrested.
“One person was picked up from Uttar Pradesh, and one other two accused were apprehended from Indore. Sonam surrendered on the Nandganj police station and was subsequently arrested,” Nongrang said.
At a press conference shortly after, police Supt. Vivek Syiem confirmed that a fourth male suspect had been arrested in Meghalaya in reference to the case, but said that Sonam was “the most important suspect.”
When asked if police suspected that Sonam was engaged in a relationship with one in all the 4 male suspects, Syiem said, “If you happen to join the dots, then it might seem to be it,” adding that the small print were still being verified.
Based on Sonam’s father, she called her brother from a rest stop on Sunday night on a borrowed cellphone. He told the ANI News Agency that her brother then called the police, adding that he had not had any contact together with his daughter.
Meanwhile, Raja’s brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, told reporters he would “not accept Sonam’s involvement within the murder until she confessed.”
But he later said that one in all the arrested male suspects named by the police worked in Sonam’s office.
“Only Sonam can make clear,” he said. “If she’s guilty, she ought to be punished.”
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