The newest case – a chilling homicide on a honeymoon – has riveted the Indian public. Earlier this month, police in Madhya Pradesh accused 25-year-old Sonam Raghuvanshi of conspiring along with her boyfriend to rent assassins and homicide her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, 30, whereas the newlyweds had been travelling within the northeastern state of Meghalaya. Their marriage, like most in India, had been organized.
It was late Might when Raja’s decomposed physique was discovered following an in depth search. Investigators allege that Sonam orchestrated the killing. Her father has vehemently denied the declare, accusing authorities of “making up tales” and demanding a federal inquiry.
Because the investigation unfolds, the case has turn into emblematic of what some authorized consultants describe as a disturbing new pattern: wives accused of plotting to kill their husbands, typically in live performance with lovers from earlier than their marriage.
“The phenomenon of newlywed brides murdering husbands in conspiracy with boyfriends will not be fully unprecedented, however its elevated frequency, boldness and brazenness make it a disturbing rising sample in current instances,” mentioned Bhargav Baisoya, a lawyer at Jotwani Associates in New Delhi.
The headlines have are available fast succession. In March, a 22-year-old named Pragati, barely two weeks into her organized marriage in Uttar Pradesh, was accused of collaborating along with her boyfriend, Anurag, to rent contract killers to homicide her husband, Dilip.
That very same month in Meerut, police found the stays of former service provider navy officer Saurabh Rajput, his physique stuffed inside a cement-filled drum. Investigators allege his spouse, Muskan, and her lover, Sahil Shukla, drugged him after which stabbed him to demise.
