Major Nikhil Rai Handa was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut on Sunday.
As murder accused Major Nikhil Rai Handa was produced at the Pataila House lower court Monday, his family alleged his younger brother had been assaulted by police.
A father of two, Handa was posted in Dimapur earlier this year, and had been in Delhi on leave for the last few weeks to be with his family. A relative said, “Nikhil is ex-NDA and joined the Army more than a decade ago. His first posting was in Meerut, and since then he has served in Pune and Srinagar, which was his last posting before Dimapur.”
As Nikhil was produced before a magistrate, his younger brother, who works with an NGO, limped around the courtroom, alleging he had been assaulted by police.
“Nikhil’s younger brother was detained by Delhi Police on Saturday night and let off on Sunday night. He has bruises on his back, right thigh, groin area, face and ear,” alleged a relative.
However, police said, “The family of the accused did not cooperate with us… we got to know that Handa’s younger brother Rajat had spent time with him and gave an ATM card to him before he fled to Meerut.” Police said they picked up the brother to question him to find where Handa was. They also claimed the accused was in touch with his family on WhatsApp.
After three years in Srinagar, Handa was transferred to Dimapur earlier this year. His wife and children joined him in May. “On June 9, he fell sick and was admitted to the Army Base hospital. His wife and children also flew down to Delhi… then his son fell sick and was admitted to the hospital,” said a relative.
Meanwhile, Shailza Dwivedi’s last rites were performed in Amritsar on Monday. Afterwards, her brother said Handa had “mistaken her friendly, social behaviour and wanted to develop a relationship with her. But she was not ready for this, so he murdered her.”