The inside story of how Army Major accused of killing fellow officer’s wife was caught

Delhi Police scanned 200 CCTV cameras and checked nearly 500 guest houses in less than 20 hours to trace Army Major Nikhil Rai Handa and arrest him from Meerut

Delhi Police scanned around 200 CCTV cameras and checked nearly 500 guest houses in Meerut in less than 20 hours to zero in on the location of Indian Army major Nikhil Rai Handa and arrest him from Meerut Cantonment on Sunday morning.

An Indian Army major identified as Nikhil Rai Handa was arrested in Meerut on Sunday in connection with the murder of a 35-year-old woman, who was the wife of another officer, in Delhi on Saturday.

The footage from two CCTVs showing the Honda City car, which Handa had used in the murder of Shailza Dwivedi, wife of Army major Amit Dwivedi, gave police their first clue .

Though the car’s registration number was not visible in the footage, further scanning of almost 100 cameras on routes between the two spot — Army Base hospital and Handa’s parental home in Saket — helped police establish his role in the murder.

Both Handa and his car were missing when police reached his home. His family members claimed that they were unaware of his whereabouts. Police examined the call records of Handa’s mobile that confirmed his presence near the crime scene. “We questioned Handa’s family members and learnt that he was earlier posted in the military engineering wing. His brother said he could have gone to Meerut. We searched 500 Army as well as private guest houses. Handa was caught him while he was trying to flee,” said a police officer.