Raja Raghuvanshi murder: Man named Lokendra Tomar arrested from MP

Sonam Raghuvanshi, the wife of the victim who is suspected of planning the murder, had stayed in his Indore apartment before showing up in Ghazipur.    Lokendra Tomar is the eighth person linked to this case. On Monday, the DCP of Crime in Indore asked the SP of Gwalior to detain him from an apartment in Gandhi Nagar. He stayed overnight at the Mohana police station, and the police station's officer, Rashid Khan, said that he was handed over to Meghalaya Police on Tuesday morning.

After being brought before the district court, he was sent on a 72-hour transit remand to Meghalaya Police's.

V Syiem, who’s in charge of the East Khasi Hills police as the district superintendent, mentioned on Monday that Tomar has been arrested for allegedly destroying and hiding key evidence in the case. Reports say that when Sonam left for Ghazipur, she left behind a black bag which ended up in Tomar’s hands. He supposedly told his real estate agent to get rid of that bag, knowing that police would come looking for it once Sonam was arrested—he seemed eager to avoid any links to the case.

The murder of Raja Raghuvanshi is believed to have been coordinated by Sonam and her boyfriend, Raj Kushwaha. Just a few days after tying the knot, they were on their honeymoon in Meghalaya when they allegedly hired three men to kill Raja. So far, eight people have been taken into custody, including Sonam, Raj Kushwaha, Lokendra Tomar, and three hitmen.

Tomar, however, denies any involvement. He told reporters that he didn’t know the accused tied to Raja’s murder and called the charges against him false. “I know about the allegations. I rented out my flat in Indore and don’t know anyone involved in this case. The bag being discussed was not with me. I haven’t found anything else connected to me. I mainly dealt only with James, the property dealer. I’ll be holding a press conference soon to clear everything up,” he said as police took him away.

The Meghalaya Police’s SIT recently arrested property dealer Silome James from Dewas district in MP and security guard Balla Ahirwar from Ashok Nagar district for allegedly hiding a box belonging to Sonam—she had stored it in an Indore flat after the murder last month. Sources say that the box likely contained essential evidence related to the case.