Two of the three men accused of killing Raja Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya last month have retracted their confessions and refused to testify against themselves, said the police.
According to an NDTV report, kash Rajput and Anand Kurmi remained silent before the magistrate and refused to make any statements in the court, said Herbert Pyniaid Kharkongor, Shillong City Superintendent of Police who is heading the Special Investigation Team.
Two of the five accused -- which includes Raghuvanshi's wife, Sonam -- were produced before the magistrate, the SP said. "They did not want to make any statement. We have ample material evidence against them. We are also waiting for the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report," he added.
The development comes in contradiction to the earlier claim by Meghalaya police that all the accused have confessed to the crime.
Kharkongor said police confessions are not admissible in the court and that it is their "right to not make a confessional statement."
However, he also said that material evidence is also very important. "There is no issue. We have evidence in the case," he added.
What began as a frantic search for a missing couple on their honeymoon has unravelled into a tale of deception, betrayal, and cold-blooded murder spanning several Indian states.
Raja, 29, and Sonam, 24, both from Indore, were reported missing in Meghalaya after they could not be traced in the northeastern state. The couple had tied the knot on 11 May, a union overshadowed by secrets that would soon come to light.
According to police, Sonam had maintained a relationship with Raj, an accountant at the family-owned furniture sheet business she helped manage. Despite this ongoing affair, she married Raja in Indore before the couple set off for their honeymoon.
Their romantic getaway took a dark turn on 23 May, when they vanished just hours after checking out of a homestay in Nongriat village, around 20 kilometres from the spot where Raja’s body was discovered on 2 June.