Raja Raghuvanshi Murder: Suspects Stayed at Guwahati Lodge Before Crime

In a key development in the sensational Raja Raghuvanshi murder case, it has emerged that three of the main suspects had checked into a budget lodge in Guwahati just days before the crime unfolded in Meghalaya.

According to lodge authorities, the trio—identified as Vishal Singh Chauhan, Akash Rajput, and Anand Kurmi—checked into Room No. 32 of Ananda Lodge on the evening of May 19, claiming to be students in need of temporary accommodation. They allegedly arrived around 8:30 PM and departed early the next morning, around 5:30 AM on May 20.

"They posed as students seeking a short-term stay. Nothing appeared suspicious at the time," an official from the lodge told the media. The police are now closely examining this stay as part of the broader timeline that led to Raghuvanshi’s brutal killing.

The probe took a grim turn earlier this month when the body of Raja Raghuvanshi was discovered at the bottom of a deep gorge near the Weisawdong Parking Lot in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills on June 2. A machete, suspected to be the murder weapon, was found near the scene, reinforcing suspicions of a premeditated crime.

Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam had travelled to Nongriat on May 22 for their honeymoon. The couple was last seen checking out of Balaji Homestay on May 23. Their rented scooter was later found abandoned in Sohrarim, deepening the mystery surrounding the case.

Soon after, Sonam went missing, triggering an intense manhunt that ended with her voluntary surrender in her hometown of Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. She was subsequently taken into custody. On June 9, police arrested five individuals, including Sonam, in connection with the suspected murder.

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