"My Son Is Just 20, He’s Innocent"—Mother Defends Key Accused Raj Kushwaha

Raj Kushwaha, one of the key accused in the sensational murder of Indore man Raja Raghuvanshi, is innocent and being falsely implicated, claimed his mother in a recent interview. Kushwaha, alleged to be the lover of Raja’s wife Sonam Raghuvanshi, is among the four individuals arrested in connection with the case.

Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was recovered from a gorge in Meghalaya on June 2, days after he went missing along with his wife Sonam during their honeymoon on May 23. According to police, five individuals have been arrested so far in the case: Vishal Chauhan, Anand Kumri, Akash Rajput, Raj Kushwaha, and Sonam Raghuvanshi. Sonam, the prime accused, surrendered to police in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, Raj's mother defended her son, saying, "My son could never do something like this. He’s only 20... He is my only child. He used to work at Sonam's brother's factory, where she also worked. They would talk sometimes, but he’s being wrongly accused."

Describing his character, she recalled an incident to highlight his compassion: "If he saw someone walking barefoot, he would take off his own footwear and give it to them. I used to scold him for it. I would tell him I wouldn’t give him food, but he would still give them away."

Raj's mother requested that her son be proven innocent.

"I request the government to prove him innocent. He is innocent," she said while sobbing.

Raj Kushwaha’s sister also came forward to assert his innocence, firmly stating that her brother could never commit murder. She claimed that Raj was in the city and not in Shillong at the time of the incident. His younger sister appealed for verification of his presence through office records to prove he was here.

“Vicky and Raj are both like brothers to me. They could never do something like this. My brother Raj never left the city, you can confirm that with the people at his office,” she said.

With folded hands, she made an emotional plea: “My only request is that my brother be released. He’s being falsely accused. My brother is innocent.”

Raj’s sister mentioned that he returned home on Sunday at 6 PM. After arriving, he changed into fresh clothes and shoes as he was planning to visit a temple.

Raj worked at a factory and was an employee of Sonam. When asked if the family was aware of Raj, Vipul Raghuvanshi, brother of Raja Raghuvanshi, said he had heard of him but never suspected anything unusual between his sister-in-law Sonam and Raj.

“I’m not sure how long she knew Raj, but it’s possible they had known each other for quite some time. He’s been working at her company for about four to five years,” said Vipul Raghuvanshi. “I had heard of him, mostly through complaints, that he wasn’t doing his job properly.”

Vipul also mentioned that Sonam would often express frustration over Raj’s performance. “She used to scold him a lot, saying things like ‘You’re not working properly, you’re not focused, did you come here just to depend on us?’ Because of these complaints, I never imagined something like this could happen,” he said, adding, “As for the other names that have come up, I don’t know them at all.”

Also Read: Breaking: Sonam Arrives In Guwahati, Will be taken to Shillong