Shillong, 12 June

Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam had left their suitcase at a homestay in Sohra before going missing, and the 'mangalsutra' and a ring found in it helped investigators crack the honeymoon murder case, Meghalaya DGP, I Nongrang, said.

Sonam, 25, and Raja, 29 got married in Indore on 11 May and reached Meghalaya via Guwahati in Assam on 20 May for their honeymoon. Both of them went missing on 23 May in Sohra in East Khasi Hills district, hours after checking out of a homestay at Nongriat village.

"We recovered Sonam's 'mangalsutra' and a ring from the suitcase the couple abandoned at a homestay in Sohra. A married woman leaving behind the ornaments gave us a clue to pursue her as a suspect in the case," Nongrang told PTI on Wednesday evening.

'Mangalsutra' is a necklace worn by married Hindu women.

Raja's body was found in a gorge near Weisawdong Falls on 2 June. A search continued for Sonam, who emerged in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, around 1,200 km away, in the early hours of 9 June and surrendered. Police have also arrested her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha and three contract killers.

The couple walked into the homestay in Sohra on 22 May without any prior booking, another police officer, who is part of the investigation, told PTI.

They did not get a room there, and thus, decided to keep their suitcase at the homestay, as it would have been difficult to trek over 3,000 steps with it to the Nongriat village to see the double-decker root bridge, he said.

While their suitcase remained at the Sohra homestay, they spent the night at another homestay in Nongriat before checking out early on 23 May. They trekked back to Sohra, took their scooter from the parking and went to Weisawdong Falls, where Raja was allegedly killed by the three contract killers in front of his wife, he added.

PTI had on Saturday reported that a tour guide had seen the couple with three Hindi-speaking men while they were climbing back to Sohra from Nongriat.

"The accused persons have admitted to the crime, and with all the evidence, there is no room to deny," the police officer said.

A court in Shillong has sent Sonam, her boyfriend and the three hitmen to eight days of police custody.