Jammu, April 2 : Nine months after the death of Captain Megha Razdan (26), the Army officer whose body was found hanging from the ceiling of her room near Kunjwani on July 1 last year, her husband Captain Chaitanya Bhatwadekar was on Tuesday night arrested by police on charges of cruelty and abetting his wife to commit suicide. Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Parminder Singh, said Chaitanya was under suspicion right from the beginning and he had been under watch, following a court of inquiry into his wife’s death under mysterious circumstances.

The arrest followed report of narco analysis test conducted in Bangalore three months ago, which tallied with the inquest proceedings initiated by the police in the case.

Megha was reportedly under stress when a few months after her marriage she came to know about her husband’s extra marital affair. Singh said the call records and SMS details of Chaitanya’s cellphone indicated the presence of another woman in his life. Even his brain mapping hinted at his extra marital affairs, the SSP said, adding that he had been in regular touch with his childhood girlfriend, despite opposition from his wife. Megha had not shared her distress with her in-laws.

The evidences collected by police from the statements of Chaitanya and Megha’s relatives revealed that the accused had an altercation with her. As she threatened to commit suicide, he had left the house asking her to do whatever she wished.

Sources said the police suspected Chaitanya’s involvement after they came to know that he had destroyed a SIM card of his mobile phone. The SIM card had been taken away by Megha to show her in-laws, as an evidence of his extra marital affair. However, after Megha’s death, Chaitanya had destroyed the SIM card.

The police got its call record from the service provider and a thorough scrutiny revealed that the accused had made even 100 calls on certain days to his girlfriend. The Army had ordered a court of inquiry into Megha’s death. However, Chaitanya had allegedly tried to escape investigation by chopping off his tongue and fabricating a story regarding his abduction by unidentified persons.

Megha’s death had sparked a controversy after a purported suicide note said she was committing suicide as her seniors in the Army harassed her. The note said she was unhappy with her life and wanted to leave the Army, but circumstances prevented her from doing so, as her family could not pay off the money incurred on her during Army training. Sources said the police had taken into account all evidence and circumstantial facts. The computer-print out and un-signed suicide note recovered from her room did not hold any value.