New twist in Meghalaya honeymoon murder case: Sonam Raghuvanshi's cousin Jitendra Raghuvanshi's name emerges, how is he involved in Raja's murder?

The Meghalaya honeymoon murder case takes a new turn as a new name has emerged, Jitendra Raghuvanshi, adding complexity to the investigation. So far, the police made five arrests in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case, including his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi as the prime accused. Her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha, and three contract killers-Anand Kurmi, Akash Rajput and Vishal Chauhan were remaned to an eight-day police custody. While Sonam allegedly confessed to the crime during cross-examination, the mention of Jitendra Raghuvanshi certainly shifted the investigation’s focus. The Meghalaya Police, along with teams from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, have joined forces to uncover the truth behind Raja Raghuvanshi's murder. 

Who is Jitendra Raghuvanshi?

On May 23, 2025, Sonam allegedly used a UPI account to make initial payments to the contract killers to murder her husband Raja Raghuvanshi. The account is named Jitendra Raghuvanshi. Sonam’s brother claimed that Jitendra was his cousin, and Sonam’s UPI account was opened in his name, without explaining the reason, as reported by Hindustan Times. After Jitendra’s name emerged in the probe, suspicions were raised that Sonam made the transactions through the Hawala route, bringing her family’s business under scanner for alleged Hawala links. However, Govind has rejected such claims. 

“We don’t have to do anything with hawala. False stories are being cooked up. The man Jitendra Raghuvanshi, whose name is cropping up, is my maternal cousin as well as a junior employee in our family business, who looks after loading and unloading in the godown. The account in his name actually has that money of ours which is spent on taking care of the day-to-day expenditure of the business,” Govind was quoted as saying to HT. 

Meanwhile, Sonam Raghuvanshi and her husband Raja went missing during their honeymoon in Meghalaya's Sohra on May 23. Following the investigation, Raja's body was found near Weisawdong Falls on June 2, and Sonam was later traced to Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur. Sonam surrendered on June 9 and arrested the four other accused in the sensational case. The police Sonam's boyfriend Raj Kushwah, and three contract killers allegedly hired by them to murder Raja. Sonam has been sent to a 72-hour transit remand.