Siya is mini Sonam: Raja Raghuvanshi's mother compares Pune case to son's murder

Raja Raghuvanshi's mother has compared Pune fort murder accused Siya Goyal to her daughter-in-law Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the 2025 Meghalaya honeymoon murder case.

In Short

• Uma Raghuvanshi compared Pune murder accused Siya Goyal to Sonam Raghuvanshi
• Raja Raghuvanshi was killed by Sonam during honeymoon in Meghalaya in May 2025
• Siya, her lover allegedly pushed fiance Ketan into gorge near Pune fort

The mother of Raja Raghuvanshi, the Indore businessman who was murdered during his honeymoon in Meghalaya, on Thursday compared Pune fort murder accused Siya Goyal to her daughter-in-law Sonam Raghuvanshi, saying the 20-year-old showed the same lack of remorse and was "mini Sonam".

Siya, 20, and her lover Chetan Chaudhary, 22, have been arrested for allegedly pushing her 26-year-old fiance, Ketan Agarwal, into a gorge at Lohagad Fort near Pune on June 18 and attempting to portray the death as an accidental fall during a trek. In a separate case that shocked the country in May last year, Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered during his honeymoon in Meghalaya, with police accusing his wife Sonam Raghuvanshi of conspiring with her lover and others to kill him.

Speaking about the Pune murder case, Uma Raghuvanshi said the role of Siya in the Pune murder case reminded her of Sonam.

"Siya Goyal is choti (mini) Sonam. Looking at her expressions and body language, I was reminded of Sonam. She doesn't appear to have any remorse for what she has done," she said.

Uma also expressed concern over Sonam Raghuvanshi being out on bail, claiming it could send the wrong message to people accused in similar crimes. "Granting bail to Sonam increases the confidence of accused persons in such cases," she alleged.

The Raja Raghuvanshi murder case is currently being heard in a Shillong court. Sonam is out on bail, while the alleged mastermind, Raj Kushwaha, and three other accused remain in judicial custody.

ABOUT THE RAJA RAGHUVANSHI CASE

Raja Raghuvanshi, a 29-year-old transport businessman from Indore, married Sonam on May 11, 2025. Nine days later, the newlyweds travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon and were last seen leaving a homestay in East Khasi Hills district on May 23.

The case took a grim turn on June 2 when Raja's body was recovered from a deep gorge near Weisawdong Falls in Sohra. Investigators said he had been murdered, with the post-mortem examination indicating that he suffered fatal head injuries inflicted with a sharp-edged weapon.

Sonam, who had disappeared after the incident, remained untraceable for nearly a week before she surfaced near a roadside eatery on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway in Uttar Pradesh on June 8. She was arrested the following day by Meghalaya Police with assistance from local authorities.

According to investigators, Sonam was allegedly in a relationship with Raj Kushwaha and conspired with him and others to kill Raja. Police allege the honeymoon trip was used as a cover to execute the murder plot.

Police allege that Raja Raghuvanshi was hacked to death by three hitmen – Akash Singh Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand Kurmi – in the presence of Sonam. Investigators have identified Raj Kushwaha as the alleged mastermind of the murder plot.

- Ends
(with inputs from Dharmendra Kumar Sharma)