Indian guilty of 'tandoor murder'

Sharma (right) hoped the oven would destroy the corpse

A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has found a former politician guilty of murdering his wife and later trying to burn the body in a restaurant oven.

Former Congress party youth leader Sushil Sharma shot his wife Naina Sahni dead in July 1995 before trying to dispose of the corpse.

The courtroom was packed for the end of one of India's grisliest and most talked-about murder cases.

Sharma will be sentenced on Wednesday. Three others were acquitted.

The judge also found restaurant manager Keshav Kumar, a friend of Sharma's, guilty of plotting to dispose of the corpse.

The three acquitted - accused of giving shelter to Mr Sharma after the crime - could not be convicted for lack of evidence.

Country shocked

Sharma shot his wife after suspecting her of having an affair and then cut the body up into pieces, the court heard.

The grisly murder of Naina Sahni shocked the nation

He then took the body to an upmarket city restaurant and put it into the clay oven, or tandoor, with Kumar's help.

The murder shocked the entire country.

Police raided the restaurant after a tip-off and found the charred body parts of Ms Sahni.

Sharma, who headed the youth wing of the Congress party, was arrested in the southern city of Bangalore a few days after the murder.

Analysts say the case could prove embarrassing for Congress in forthcoming state elections.