A newlywed woman from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, who allegedly hired assassins to kill her husband on honeymoon in Meghalaya, was traced to a roadside restaurant at Nandganj in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur in the early hours of Monday, over a fortnight after she went missing over 12,00 km away. Sonam did not say much when an Uttar Pradesh Police officer tried to speak to her. (Sourced)

An Uttar Pradesh Police officer said the woman identified herself as Sonam, 24, at a centre for women in distress after she was found in Nandganj at 1am and rushed her to a hospital. “A police team rushed to the restaurant after we were informed about her presence… She was rushed to a government hospital in Ghazipur. After treatment, she was shifted to the centre for women in distress, where she identified herself as Sonam.”

People aware of the matter said Sonam did not say much when a senior police officer visited the centre and tried to speak to her.

Sahil Yadav, the restaurant owner, said Soman was crying and asked him for his mobile to call her family. “I asked her to sit and gave her my mobile. Then she made a call… Thereafter, she returned my phone and kept sitting until police came and took her to the hospital.”

Additional director general (law and order) Amitabh Yash said Sonam Raghuvanshi was found along the Varanasi-Ghazipur road. “She was sent to Sadar Hospital for initial treatment and later taken to the One Stop Centre in Ghazipur.”

The people cited above said Sonam will be handed over to a Meghalaya Police team, which was expected to arrive in Ghazipur as soon as possible.

The body of Soman’s husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, was found in a gorge near the Weisawdong Falls in Meghalaya on Monday last. Three alleged assassins Soman allegedly hired were arrested from Indore after days of multi-agency combing of a rugged and forested terrain in Meghalaya.

Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma said the breakthrough in the murder case was achieved within seven days with the arrest of three assailants. In a post on X, he added that the operation was on to catch one more assailant.

Meghalaya Police chief I Nongrang said Sonam hired the alleged killers, who were arrested two days after investigators found a fresh clue when a trekking guide told investigators that he saw the couple with three unidentified men the day the husband was last seen amid a search operation and demands for a federal probe. The guide said Raghuvanshi was walking with the three men, while Sonam followed slowly. He said he met the couple and asked if they needed a guide.

The couple went missing on May 23 from Sohra, around 50 km from the state capital, Shillong. Investigators on Tuesday last recovered a smashed mobile phone and a machete from the gorge, where Raghuvanshi’s body was found, even as police struggled for a breakthrough despite an aerial operation to trace Sonam. Raghuvanshi’s body was found after a drone spotted it.

The Meghalaya Police, fire and emergency services, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force, dog squads, and West Jaiñtia Hills Adventurers and Mountaineering Association volunteers were pressed into the search operation.

An investigator said the machete recovered did not resemble the ones traditionally used in Meghalaya. The handle of the machete was covered in plastic, not wood, which is uncommon for locally crafted sharp tools.

The machete was sent for forensic examination to ascertain if it was used in the killing of Raghuvanshi, as police registered a homicide case and described Sonam’s disappearance as inexplicable and unusual.

Police suspected foul play and believed Raghuvanshi’s death was not an accident. A Special Investigation Team was constituted to probe the case.

The scooter the couple rented was found abandoned in Sohrarim, about 25 km from the gorge, with the key in the ignition amid heavy rainfall and strong winds.

A white shirt, medicine, part of a phone screen, and a smartwatch were recovered from the gorge along with Raghuvanshi’s body, which was identified by a tattoo on his right hand reading “Raja”.