THE BRITISH HUSBAND OF A WOMAN who was murdered last month while the couple was honeymooning in South Africa has been arrested in the UK after a request by South African authorities.

The couple had married in Mumbai a fortnight before the killing.

The couple’s car was allegedly attacked by gunmen who forced their driver to leave the vehicle. The attackers then forced newly-wed Shrien Dewani out of the moving car, according to him.

The body of his wife, Anni Dewani, 28, was found in the abandoned vehicle with injuries to her head and chest.

Shrien Dewani said in a statement that he welcomed the opportunity to clear his name, but is devastated by his wife’s murder and the “false allegations” made against him. He has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to her murder.

Appearing in court this afternoon, Dewani said he did not consent to extradition to South Africa, the BBC reports. He was arrested after handing himself in to police in Bristol.

Taxi driver Zola Tongo yesterday accused Dewani of ordering his wife’s death. Tongo, 31, was sentenced by a South African court to 18 years for his part in the killing, after being found guilty of kidnapping, robbery, murder and obstructing justice. Two other suspects are due to stand trial in February, according to the Guardian.

South African authorities would not comment today on Dewani’s claims that they cut off communication with him before his arrest, according to News 24. A businessman based in Bristol, Dewani had travelled back to Britain after his wife’s death.

Dewani’s publicist, Max Clifford, said yesterday that Dewani regards the allegations against him as “absurd and obscene”.