My daughter is innocent: Father of MP woman accused of hiring men to kill husband
Indore (PTI): The father of an Indore-based woman, who has been accused of hiring men to kill her husband during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, on Monday claimed his daughter was "100 per cent innocent" and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.
A relative of deceased local transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi also said they cannot believe his wife Sonam was behind his murder, but if she is proved guilty, she should be given the harshest punishment.
He said Sonam made a video call to her brother on Sunday night following which Raghuvanshi's family informed the Uttar Pradesh police about her presence in that state.
Indore resident Raghuvanshi was allegedly killed by men hired by his wife during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, DGP I Nongrang said on Monday morning.
Speaking to PTI, she said the woman surrendered before the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, while three other assailants were arrested in overnight raids.
Raghuvanshi and his wife went missing while vacationing in Meghalaya's Sohra area on May 23. His body was found in a gorge on June 2.
Sonam's father, however, refuted the police's claims.
"My daughter is 100 per cent innocent. We demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case," Sonam's father Devi Singh Raghuvanshi told reporters.
"The Meghalaya police are giving false statements about my daughter because the state government's image is getting tarnished due to Raja Raghuvanshi's murder case," he alleged.
He further claimed the Meghalaya police have no evidence against his daughter that she gave a contract to get her husband killed.
Meanwhile, Raja Raghuvanshi's brother Vipin Raghuvanshi said, "Sonam made a video call to her brother Govind late last night. After this, we called the Uttar Pradesh police and informed them about Sonam being in their state."
"Until the alleged contract killers are confronted with Sonam, we cannot believe that she had hired them to kill her husband," he said.
If Sonam is found guilty in the murder of her husband, then she should get the harshest punishment, he added.
The name of a person named Raj Kushwaha has surfaced in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case.
Sonam's father, who runs a business of Sunmica sheets used in furniture, said a person named Raj Kushwaha is associated with his establishment and till the day before yesterday he was working at his warehouse.
"Kushwaha's name is being wrongly linked with my daughter Sonam. The Meghalaya police are making false allegations against my daughter to save their skin. I will send a legal notice to the Meghalaya police. I want the CBI to investigate the entire matter," he said.
After their marriage on May 11, Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife left for Meghalaya on May 20 for their honeymoon.
They arrived at Mawlakhiat village in the north-eastern state on May 22 on a rented scooter.
On May 24, their scooter was found abandoned at a cafe along the road from Shillong to Sohra, following which the search for them began.
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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
