After the detention of Sonam Raghuvanshi for allegedly murdering her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, her father Devi Singh on Monday claimed his daughter was innocent and accused the Meghalaya police and the state government of “lying” from the beginning. He also demanded a CBI inquiry into the case.

Speaking to reporters in Indore, Singh said: “My daughter is innocent. I have trust in my daughter. She cannot do this (kill her husband). They got married with the consent of both families. The state (Meghalaya) Government has been lying from the beginning. My daughter came to a dhaba in Ghazipur last night and she called her brother. Police went to the dhaba, and she was taken from there. I have not been able to speak to my daughter. Why will my daughter do such a thing (kill her husband)?” he said.

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The couple, who had just gotten married last month, was reported missing on May 24 after their rented scooter was discovered abandoned along the Shillong–Sohra road. The case took a sinister turn when Raja’s body was found in a gorge near Wei Sawdong Falls, a popular trekking destination near Cherrapunjee on June 2.

The Meghalaya police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case. Earlier today, the SIT arrested three assailants and claimed they were hired by Raja’s wife Sonam. Later, Sonam also surrendered before Uttar Pradesh police in Ghazipur and was arrested subsequently.

Singh argued that his daughter reached Ghazipur on her own and wasn’t arrested by the Meghalaya police, claiming Sonam herself called her brother Govind.

“My daughter reached Ghazipur on her own. She was not arrested in Meghalaya. We were thinking of meeting Madhya Pradesh CM and then Union HM Amit Shah to request for a CBI inquiry. Meghalaya Police is making up stories. Let the CBI inquiry begin, all officers at the police station (in Meghalaya) will be behind bars,” he said.

Speaking about her daughter’s marriage to Raja Raghuvanshi last month, he said, “Sonam and Raja did not know each other before marriage. It was an arranged marriage.”