A Meghalaya court has formally framed charges against five individuals accused in the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, an Indore-based businessman. Raghuvanshi was allegedly murdered during his honeymoon in Sohra in May 2025. The five accused include Raghuvanshi's wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi; her alleged lover, Raj Kushwaha; and three alleged hitmen, Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi.

The charges were framed by a court in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district on Tuesday. All five accused pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them in court. The court has charged the five accused under Sections 103(1) (murder), 238(a) (disappearance of evidence), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Syiem stated that the police and prosecution appreciate the court's decision and that the case will now proceed to trial. He expressed confidence in the evidence presented before the court and trusts that the judicial process will take its due course. Special Prosecutor KC Gautam said that all five accused will stand trial soon and that the maximum punishment for the charges is a death sentence.

According to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Sonam Raghuvanshi and Raj Kushwaha allegedly conspired to kill Raja Raghuvanshi and hired the three men from Madhya Pradesh to carry out the murder during the couple's honeymoon. Raja Raghuvanshi was killed on May 23, 2025, near Wei Sawdong Falls in Sohra. His body was discovered a week later, on June 2, in a deep gorge. The discovery triggered an extensive multi-agency search and investigation operation in Meghalaya.

The SIT filed a 790-page chargesheet in September, which included forensic, digital, and material evidence such as CCTV footage, call records, GPS data, and the weapons allegedly used in the murder. The court determined that there was prima facie evidence to proceed against the accused.

The investigation revealed that Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam arrived in Shillong on May 21 before traveling to Sohra. On May 26, the couple was reported missing, which led to a massive search operation involving the police, NDRF, SDRF, and local trekking groups. The police allege that Sonam was in a relationship with Raj Kushwaha and that the two plotted the murder with the help of the three hired assassins, who executed the killing in Sonam's presence. All five were arrested within a week of the crime.

Police are reportedly preparing a second chargesheet against three others—Silom James, Lokendra Tomar, and Balbir Ahirbar—for their alleged involvement in destroying evidence. James, Tomar, and Ahirbar were arrested from three locations in Madhya Pradesh and are currently out on bail.

The case came to light after villagers found an abandoned two-wheeler with keys on it at Sohrarim village between Shillong and Sohra Road on May 24. The two-wheeler had been hired by Raja and Sonam from Shillong for four days.