Meghalaya Police recover suspected murder evidence from Indore drain in Raja Raghuvanshi case

A Meghalaya police team probing the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case on Wednesday found some items in a drain in the city on the basis of information provided by one of the accused.

The police officials got down into the drain in Palasia area along with real estate businessman Shilom James who has been arrested in the case, said an eyewitness.

After a brief search, items packed in a plastic bag were recovered, he said.

While the police team made no official statement about the recovery, an Indore police official said the bag could contain a country-made pistol.

This weapon was suspected to have disappeared along with other items from a flat in Indore city where Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raja Raghuvanshi's wife and the prime accused, had stayed for several days after fleeing from Meghalaya following the murder.

Earlier, on the basis of information provided by James, the investigators had recovered burnt pieces of a bag from an empty plot on June 22.

Besides James, flat owner Lokendra Singh Tomar and security guard Balbir Ahirwar have been arrested on charges of hiding or destroying important evidence.

Sources said the three accused are currently in transit custody of Meghalaya Police and are being questioned about these pieces of evidence.

James had rented out the flat in Dewas Naka area -- where Sonam allegedly hid before travelling to Uttar Pradesh and surrendering before police on June 8 -- to Vishal Chauhan, one of the accused.

On June 13, James himself told the media that Chauhan had met him on May 30 and rented the flat for Rs 17,000 per month.

Sources said that when the Meghalaya police visited the flat, they found it empty.

Sonam, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha and Kushwaha's friends Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi have been arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to murder Raja Raghuvanshi. All of them are lodged in judicial custody in Meghalaya.

Raja Raghuvanshi, who married Sonam on May 11, went missing on May 23 during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. His mutilated body was found in a deep gorge in the Sohra area of East Khasi Hills district on June 2. (PTI)