Raja Raghuvanshi Murder Case: Meghalaya Police Gets 6-Day Custody of Silome, Lokendra and Balbir
First Published: 26th June, 2025 20:48 IST
The trio were brought to Shillong from Indore on Thursday.
In a key development in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case in Meghalaya, the State Police has secured 6 days’ custody of Silome James, Lokendra Singh Tomar, and Balbir Ahirbar, who were produced before the District and Sessions Judge court in Shillong this evening.
The trio were brought to Shillong from Indore on Thursday.
Lokendra Singh Tomar, is a resident of Gwalior and landlord of the Dewas Naka flat in Indore where Sonam had been hiding after killing her husband on May 23.
Silome James, is a property dealer, and Balbir Ahirbar, a security guard-cum-carpenter from Ashok Nagar district in Madhya Pradesh. They were arrested for their alleged involvement in aiding the prime accused and helping conceal and destroy crucial evidence.
Following the lead provided by Silom James, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police has recovered a country-made pistol, two magazines, and two rounds of .32 ammunition from a stream in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.
Additionally, Rs 50,000 in cash was seized from Silom James’ personal vehicle.
According to police, he had allegedly taken the amount from a laptop bag belonging to prime accused Raj Kushwaha.
The bag was later burnt, and the laptop was reportedly dumped by the roadside but has not yet been recovered.
Raja Raghuvanshi was allegedly murdered by his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi, her lover Raj Kushwaha, and 3 accomplices on May 23 during a honeymoon trip to Meghalaya.
He was hit with two machetes by Vishal, Akash and Anand while Sonam was standing in front of Raja.
Then they threw the body into a deep gorge near Weisawdong Falls at the Riat Arliang parking lot in Umblai, Sohra.
Raja’s body was found in semi-decomposed state by the Shillong Police on June 2.
Meanwhile, Sonam was missing, but what began as a missing person case soon escalated into a homicide investigation, with Sonam emerging as the prime suspect.
A major breakthrough in the case came with the arrest of Akash Rajput on June 8. Following his interrogation, police began closing in on the main conspirators. In a dramatic turn, Sonam, who had been untraceable, suddenly surfaced in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh on June 9 and surrendered before police. Her emergence led to her immediate arrest and shed light on her suspected role in orchestrating the murder.
During interrogation, Sonam confessed that she, along with her 21-year-old alleged lover Raj Kushwaha an employee at her father’s factory conspired to kill Raja.
Police suspect that the murder was premeditated and possibly motivated by business interests and a romantic relationship between Sonam and Raj.
So far 8 persons- Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Chauhan, Akash Rajput, Anand Kurme, Silom James, a property dealer, Balbir Ahirbar, a security guard-cum-carpenter, and Lokendra Singh Tomar, landlord of a flat in Indore where Sonam hid after the murder, have been arrested by the police.
Currently, Sonam and Raj are under 13-day judicial custody and Vishal, Akash and Anand are in 14 day-judicial custody.
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