Guwahati: The two main accused in Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder, Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi, have refused to make any confession before a magistrate in Shillong, Meghalaya.
Superintendent of Police (City) Herbert Kharkongor, who is leading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case, confirmed that the accused refused to testify against themselves before the magistrate on Thursday.
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The Meghalaya Police earlier claimed that all the accused have made confession to the murder.
Kharkongor informed that while the accused have a right to refuse to make statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), it would not impede the investigation.
“We have sent two of the five accused persons – Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi – but then they refused to make the statement (or confession) before the magistrate,” Kharkongor stated. “But it is not an issue as we have evidence to prove (their involvement in the case).”
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Despite the refusal to confess, SP Kharkongor expressed strong confidence in the evidence already gathered by the SIT. “We have ample evidence. Right from the beginning and till now also whatever material we have these are good evidences,” he asserted.
Notably, the SIT is awaiting the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, which Kharkongor believes will further strengthen their case. The police are determined to file the chargesheet within the stipulated 90 days.
Police have sent all five accused individuals – Sonam Raghuvanshi, her lover Raj Kushwaha, Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan, and Anand Kurmi – to judicial custody in connection with Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder, which occurred at Sohra on May 23.