Lucknow: A day after the murder of Indore tourist Raja Raghuvanshi took a dramatic turn with the arrest of his wife Sonam Raghwanshi and the exposure of a murder-for-hire plot, it has come to the fore that Sonam offered Rs 4 lakh for her husband's murder and then raised the amount to Rs 20 lakh. According to reports, the hitmen hired by Sonam first met with the Raghuvanshi couple in Bengaluru, from where they took their connecting flight to the northeast.

Shillong police sources suggested that the plan of a one-way ticket to Meghalaya was Sonam’s plan. Even though her boyfriend did not travel to Meghalaya, he did the planning behind the scenes and was in touch with Sonam, the reports added.

According to top police sources, Sonam had also helped the other accused in pushing Raghuvanshi's body into a gorge in Meghalaya.

Raja Raghuvanshi's body was found in a gorge near a waterfall in Sohra area (also known as Cherrapunji) of East Khasi Hills district on June 2, days after he reached Meghalaya with his wife Sonam for their honeymoon.

Sonam had allegedly hired killers to get rid of her husband as she reportedly wanted to be with her lover. As per sources, Sonam Raghuvanshi planned the murder with her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha just a few days after her May 11 wedding in Indore.

The accused first followed the newlyweds to Guwahati on May 21 where they stayed close to their hotel and then to Shillong on May 22. They killed Raja the next day, the sources said. On May 23, Sonam and Raja Raghuvanshi went on a trek to a steep peak to see a waterfall, with the hitmen following their trail.

At one point, Sonam pretended to be tired and started walking much behind her husband and the killers, the sources said. When they reached a deserted place, Sonam allegedly asked the men to kill her husband.

The killers, however, refused to kill him, saying they were tired, as per the sources. Sonam Raghuvanshi then allegedly raised her offer to 20 lakh, they said.

According to sources, Sonam also helped the accused in throwing Raja's body into the ditch. As per the preliminary autopsy report, Raja Raghuvanshi was hit twice, once each on the back and front of his head. The Meghalaya Police knew on June 3, a day after they found the body of Raja Raghuvanshi in the gorge, that his wife was involved in the murder. The Meghalaya Police has claimed that all those involved in the conspiracy to kill the man from Indore - including Raj Kushwaha, Vishal Chauhan and Akash Rajput and Anand Kurmi - have been arrested in the operation that they codenamed 'Operation Honeymoon'.