INDORE: He hugged her father, murmured reassurances, stood by the pyre. Raj Kushwaha – arrested for allegedly plotting the honeymoon murder of Raja Raghuvanshi – wept with the family he is accused of betraying.For days, Raj pretended to grieve. He consoled his alleged lover Sonam’s father, helped arrange Raja’s funeral after his body was found in Meghalaya on June 2. He stood beside the family like a loyal friend. Police alleged it was all a performance – one staged while his childhood friends killed the 28-year-old newlywed in Meghalaya.Raj, 21, worked in the Raghuvanshis’ family business in Indore. Handled billing, earned trust, shared meals. He lived near Sonam’s house. No one suspected the calm boy with soft eyes of harbouring a murder plot. Photographs show him at the cremation, arm around Sonam’s father Devi Singh. Two days before his arrest, he visited Sonam’s home again. “He chatted like nothing had happened,” Singh said Monday. “Trusted him like a son. We had no idea he might have been involved.”Raj is accused of hatching the plan to get back Sonam and sending three friends to execute it. He stayed back in Indore, allegedly coordinating and keeping up the illusion of concern. Raja’s brother Vipin Raghuvanshi said he overheard Sonam’s brother Govind on the phone during their trip to Meghalaya after the couple went missing on May 23. “He kept telling Raj, ‘I’ve left everything to you – manage the business while I’m in Shillong’,” Vipin said.The betrayal has left the family numb. “He stood by us, offered support, helped arrange things,” a relative said. “All that while allegedly hiding blood on his hands.”Raja and Sonam’s wedding was arranged in May. Sonam, 24, told her father she had no one else in mind.