Meghalaya court reserves bail order for Indore property dealer in honeymoon murder case

A court in Meghalaya's Shillong has reserved its order on a bail plea filed by a property dealer in Indore, who has been arrested in connection with the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi in Sohra, officials said on Thursday.

The application, moved by property dealer Shilome James' counsel Devesh Sharma, was strongly opposed by public prosecutor Tushar Chanda during the hearing on Wednesday, they said.

The court has reserved its order, the officials said.

Belongings, including gold ornaments, of Sonam, the wife of the deceased man, and a pistol were recovered from the possession of the Indore-based property dealer.

It has also been alleged that a rented flat, managed by James, was used by Sonam to hide on her return to Indore, following the murder.

Two other accused in the case, flat owner Lokendra Singh Tomar and security guard Balbir Ahirwar alias Balia, have already been granted bail after their judicial custody was over, the official said.

Both have also been accused of tampering with crucial evidence related to the crime that took place in Meghalaya's Sohra in May.

Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam got married in May, and the Indore-based couple went to Meghalaya for their honeymoon and went missing soon after.

Raja's blood-stained body was found later in a deep gorge in Sohra, and Sonam was presumed missing till June 9, when she was nabbed from a dhaba hundreds of miles away in Uttar Pradesh.

The 24-year-old woman was arrested from Ghazipur, while her four aides were apprehended from Indore for their alleged role in conspiring and killing Raja.