Court puts Major on trial in murder of woman

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday put an Army Major on trial for allegedly killing another officer's wife he was obsessed with and destroying evidence in the case.

Special Judge Rakesh Syal framed the charges against Major Nikhil Handa under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) after the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

The court has listed the matter for January 19, when it will start recording the prosecution evidence.

In the charge sheet, the Delhi police had alleged that it was a pre-planned murder. It had claimed that a night before the incident, the accused had watched various videos on 'Youtube' on how to kill someone, which indicates his intention to murder the woman.

The police claimed that the accused was "obsessed" with his fellow officer's wife and wanted to marry her.

Major Handa, who is married with two kids, knew the woman and her husband, also a Major in the Army, since 2015, when both of them were posted in Nagaland.

If convicted for murder, he may get a maximum of death penalty in the case. Handa was arrested in June from Meerut for his alleged involvement in the killing of another Major's wife in West Delhi.

The woman's body was found with her throat slit near the Brar Square in the Delhi Cantonment area.

Initially, the police had informed that a woman had died in an accident. Later, when they inspected the body, it was found that her throat was slit, the police had said.

The accused had allegedly run a car over her face and the body in order to make the incident appear as an accident, the police has alleged.