Murder weapon found from a spot near the Meerut-Muzaffarnagar highway; accused Major Nikhil Handa’s police custody ends today
Major Nikhil Rai Handa, who allegedly killed Shailza Dwivedi, in police custody. (Photo: IANS)
In a major development in the Shailza Dwivedi murder case, the Delhi Police have recovered the knife, allegedly used by accused Major Nikhil Handa to slit the throat of victim. Five days after crime, the murder weapon was found from a spot near the Meerut-Muzaffarnagar highway on Thursday, 28 June. The police said traces of burnt clothes were also recovered from the spot.
Investigators said they also found a lot of pornographic material on Major Handa’s two cell phones. However, the police said, the accused had deleted his chat record and the messages he had exchanged with Shailza, wife of another Army officer. The phones will be sent for a forensic examination.
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Dwivedi’s phone, which had been broken by the accused after the crime, will also be sent for a forensic examination. The police, however, said chances of data recovery from the phone were slim since its motherboard was badly damaged.
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READ | Major Nikhil Handa stabbed Shailza Dwivedi after argument with wife on phone: Police
A senior officer told PTI that a CCTV grab showed that the accused had taken a detour on the Meerut-Muzaffarnagar highway while going towards Meerut, from where he was arrested on 24 June.
The accused was questioned about it and he led the police to the spot, where he had dumped the knife he had bought from Sadar Bazar, the officer added.
The police also recovered the clothes of the accused that he had burnt, send those for a forensic examination.
READ | Major Nikhil Handa wanted to marry Shailza Dwivedi, made 3000 calls this year: Police
The police custody of the accused ends on Friday.
The investigators are not likely to seek an extension of Handa’s custody.
The victim’s body was found with its throat slit near the Brar Square in the Delhi Cantonment area on Saturday.
READ | Violence against women bothers me to the core: Shailza Dwivedi
Initially, the police were informed that a woman had died in an accident, but later, when they inspected the body, it was found that her throat had been slit. The accused had allegedly run his car over her face and body to make it look like an accident.
(With agency inputs)
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