Missing Bride Surrenders to Police and Is Arrested After Allegedly Murdering Her Husband on Their Honeymoon

An Indian newlywed has been arrested after her husband was found dead during their honeymoon.

Sonam Raghuvanshi, 25, allegedly surrendered at a police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district on Monday, June 9. Police accuse her of hiring people to kill her husband, Raja Raghuvansh, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, the BBC and local outlet Hindustan Times reported.

Sonam married Raja, 30, on May 11 at a ceremony in Indore, which was blessed by both families, according to the BBC. However, the couple went missing four days after they arrived in Meghalaya for their honeymoon.

A week later amid a search for them, Raja’s decompoing body was found in a gorge with his throat slit and his wallet, a gold ring, and a chain missing, the BBC noted. Sonam’s family then launched a campaign that included a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that police were not doing enough to find Sonam or Raja’s killers.

Business owner Sahil Yadav told local news outlet Times of India that Sonam arrived at his restaurant Kashi Dhaba on foot at around 1 a.m. local time on Sunday.

“She asked for a mobile to talk to her brother and then started crying,” Yadav said, per the outlet. Within 30 minutes of her brother asking for her location, police arrived at the scene.

Three other suspects from the couple’s home state, Madhya Pradesh, have also been arrested in overnight raids, the BBC reported, citing Director General of Meghalaya police Idashisha Nongrang.

“One person was picked up from Uttar Pradesh and another two accused were apprehended from Indore. Sonam surrendered at the Nandganj police station and was subsequently arrested,” Nongrang said, according to the outlet.

Related Stories

Hospital Staff Believed Husband’s Death Was Suspicious. An Autopsy Revealed the Unthinkable

Wife Posted About Other Women ‘Plotting’ Against Her Marriage Days Before Allegedly Killing Husband and Leaving Body Outside

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said in a post on X that police are searching for another suspect amid their investigation.

“Within 7 days a major breakthrough has been achieved by the #meghalayapolice in the Raja murder case…3 assailants who are from Madhya Pradesh have been arrested, female has surrendered  and operation still on to catch 1 more assailant .. well done #meghalayapolice.”

In a press conference shared on X by the news agency ANI, Minister Alexander Laloo Hek argued that the police and government had been unfairly criticized amid their investigation into the case.

“The truth has come out,” he added. 

While police have alleged the men arrested were paid to murder him at Sonam’s request, the alleged motive for Raja’s death has not been revealed, Times of India reported.

Raja’s brother, Vipin Raghuvanshi, said that one of the men arrested amid the police’s investigation worked in Sonam’s office. “Only Sonam can clarify,” he said, per BBC. “If she’s guilty, she should be punished.”

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.  

Despite having not yet spoken to Sonam, her father Devi Singh maintains that she is “innocent” and told the BBC that he believes she “somehow managed to escape her captors.”

He has accused the Meghalaya police of “making up stories” and is appealing for Home Minister Amit Shah to order a federal inquiry into the case, according to the outlet.

“My appeal to the government is to get a CBI inquiry done. Meghalaya Police is lying,” Singh said, as reported by the Hindustan Times. “They did not do any inquiry. I am 100% sure that Meghalaya Police is involved in the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi. I have not spoken to the family of Raja Raghuvanshi. 

“Sonam and Raja did not know each other before marriage. It was an arranged marriage. I have not been able to speak to my daughter,” he continued. “Only my son, Govind, spoke to Sonam. Meghalaya Police is trying to trap Sonam in this case. If CBI inquiry is done, officials of the Police Station in Meghalaya will be behind bars.”

There has been speculation that Sonam was having an affair, The Hindustan Times reported, citing Vivek Syiem, superintendent of police.

According to the outlet, Syiem said, “It is a fact that she called up her relatives, but all this happened after the raids were conducted. If you look at it logically, all these days she hadn’t come out, but last night, when Raj Kushwaha and others were caught, suddenly she surfaced. That speaks for itself.”

“The first person arrested is a 19-year-old Akash Rajput, from Lalitpur. The second accused is Vishal Singh Chauhan, age 22 years, from Indore, and the third is Raj Singh Kushwaha, age 21 years, from Indore,” Syiem added. 

PEOPLE has reached out to the Nandganj police station and Meghalaya police for further information, but did not immediately hear back.