London:
An Indian-origin IT specialist at a bank has been found guilty of strangling his wife to death with a vaccum cleaner hose and then burning her body in a garden incinerator to prevent her from revealing he was gay.
Jasvir Ram Ginday, 29, attacked his wife Varkha Rani at their home with a metal pipe from a vacuum cleaner just six months after an arranged marriage ceremony in India.
He strangled the 24-year-old woman then burnt her body in the garden incinerator, telling a neighbour he had set fire to rubbish, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Ginday had struggled "being a gay man in a straight world," Judge John Warner told the court during his summing up.
A jury of seven women and five men at Wolverhampton Crown Court took around 17 hours to find Ginday guilty of murder after a three-week trial.
Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Sarbjit Johal said: "Ginday got married as a matter of convenience - he tricked a poor innocent girl into marriage but was living a lie.
"When she uncovered the truth he could not live with it and killed her quickly, then tried to dispose of her body and her possessions by burning them. Had another day passed before police attended, Ginday may well have successfully removed all traces of Varkha.
"I hope that this verdict brings some comfort to Varkha's family who have travelled from India to see justice is brought for their daughter."
Ginday initially told police that his wife had packed her bags and walked out on him following a row at their home.
Then the accused, who pleaded guilty to man slaughter, had claimed throughout his trial that he had accidentally killed Rani while restraining her with a vacuum cleaner hose.
But the jury believed the prosecution's case that the Royal Bank of Scotland employee had planned the killing of his wife, who had only been in the country for about a month.
Back in 2008, Ginday had confided to a friend that he was attracted to men but that he could not tell his family as his mother was very strict.
West Midlands Police revealed that the IT specialist had been frequenting gay bars and having relationships with men around the time of his engagement to Varkha.
Officers conducting inquiries in the area were told people had seen smoke emanating from the property.
They went into the garden of the home Ginday shared with his parents and found the metal incinerator.
When they lifted the lid, they saw a human skull.
Varkha's cousin Sunil Kumar said: "No words can truly express the sadness and hurt my family and I are experiencing at the loss of Varkha. She was loved dearly by all."