Indian husband of woman with chopped hand to appear in court

LONDON - The estranged Indian husband of a woman found dying with a severed hand in a London street is to appear in court Monday after being charged with her murder.

Harpreet Aulakh, 31, was charged with murder of mother-of-two Geeta Aulakh, 28, after being re-arrested Friday.

Geeta, a receptionist at Sunrise Radio, an Asian radio station, was found with severe head injuries and her hand chopped off in Greenford, west London, Nov 16.

Sher Singh, a teenager, was also charged with her murder last month. He has been remanded in custody and ordered to appear in court March 1, 2010.

A second man arrested Friday was released on bail.

The arrests follow speculation by some British newspapers that Geeta was an “honour killing” victim.

The Guardian reported last month that senior sources believe Geeta was held down by more than one assailant and struck repeatedly with either a sabre or a machete.

The paper said police detectives had been given a detailed account of the frenzied attack by a handful of key witnesses.