Love, Lies, Murders: From the Sonam Raghuvanshi-Raja Raghuvanshi case and Siya Goyal-Ketan Agarwal murder case to the Nitish Katara case, here’s how India’s high-profile murder cases reveal terrifying patterns involving secret affairs, contract killings and honeymoon murders.
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Love, Lies, Murders: Brides turned killers – from Siya Goyal to Sonam Raghuvanshi, unmasking dark pattern of murders in India | Image: AI
Love, Lies, Murders: In recent months, several bone-chilling, high-profile murder cases have shocked India, mirroring the tragic patterns seen in the Ketan Agarwal and Raja Raghuvanshi cases. These cases have a typical pattern involving a wife or fiancée who has a secret lover and plans the murder of her husband or fiancé with the help of her lover to escape an unwanted marriage or hide the affair.
Here are some high-profile cases that reflect very similar grim timelines
The Raja Raghuvanshi Case – May/June 2025
The Incident: Indorean businessman Raja Raghuvanshi married Sonam Raghuvanshi in May 2025. Shortly after, the couple went to Meghalaya for their honeymoon. While trekking near Cherrapunji, Raja suddenly went missing.
The crime: Raja Raghuvanshi, a businessman who hails from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, married Sonam Raghuvanshi in May 2025. The couple went to Meghalaya for their honeymoon. While trekking near Cherrapunji, Raja went missing.
Initial reports indicated his disappearance as a potential trekking accident. But when Raja’s body was found in a deep gorge near Wei Sawdong Falls, the investigation took a dark turn.
The Twist: Meghalaya police unearthed a deep conspiracy. The investigators found out that Sonam, with her lover, had hired contract killers to kill her husband during the trip. After collecting evidence, police arrested Sonam for orchestrating the murder.
The Ketan Agarwal Case – June 2026
The Incident: Ketan Agarwal, a 26-year-old Pune-based businessman, engaged to Siya Goyal. Their families had planned a lavish Rs 17 crore palace wedding. Similar to Raja Raghuvanshi’s case, Ketan fell into a deep gorge during a trek to Pune’s Lohagad Fort and died.
The Cover: Initially, Siya claimed Ketan had slipped and fallen while taking photos. However, investigators developed suspicion as she lacked grief.
The Dark Twist: Pune Rural Police tracked digital footprints of Siya, checking her call logs and messaging history. Investigators discovered several of calls between the woman and her boyfriend, named Chetan Chaudhary. Siya had attempted to push Ketan off the cliff earlier, but he had survived by grabbing a bush. She then called her boyfriend for assistance. They finally pushed Ketan into the gorge and killed him on June 18. Police have arrested Siya and Chetan and investigation is underway.
The Anupam Sinha Case
The Plot: Businessman Anupam Sinha went missing and was later found murdered. His wife Monalisa initially played the grieving spouse and filed missing person complaints.
The Truth: Investigators reviewed Monalisa’s digital footprints by recording his phone records. They found several phone calls from Monalisa with her lover.
Cops found out that Monalisa and her lover had hired contract killers to kill Anupam. They planned Anupam’s murder so that they could be together.
The Premkumar Case
The Plot: Premkumar, an engineer from Chennai, was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Initially, his wife Amudha claimed that the accident was a hit-and-run or assault by unidentified men while they were out.
The Truth: Investigators grew suspicious after conflicting statements related to the timeline of the night. After examining call records, cops found out that Amudha was in a long-term relationship with a man. She didn’t like her husband and wanted to exit the marriage without a public divorce. She, along with her lover, staged the brutal hit-and-run of her husband.
The Nitish Katara Case
This case remains one of the country’s most famous examples of a romantic relationship leading to a pre-planned murder because of family status, pressure and an unwanted relationship. Contrary to the above cases, in this high-profile case, it was the woman’s family who planned the murder of her partner.
Common Threads Across These Cases:
Travel Trap: Accused often lure victims to isolated scenic locations under the pretext of a romantic trip to make the murder appear accidental.
Digital Evidence: Police often solve these cases by reviewing cyber evidence, including phone calls, deleted location data and chat records.
