Indian origin man offers money to neighbour to kill his pregnant wife in London

London: A 40-year-old man offered 50,000 pounds to a neighbour to help him kill his pregnant wife after claiming that she had "brainwashed" him into having another child, a UK court has heard.

Gurpal Diu allegedly went to the neighbour with his bank statements and said he will pay up to 50,000 pounds to find someone to get rid of his wife, the Mirror reported.

"I want my wife dead," the Rolls Royce worker told his neighbour Shezan Rasul and suggested the killer could attack her from behind with a hammer or plank of wood at home or even set up a hit and run accident.

However, Mr Rasul, who lives besides Mr Diu's house in Derby, refused to go along with the plot and instead went to the police.

Derby Crown Court heard Mr Diu showed his bank statements to Mr Rasul and said he could pay thousands of pounds for the deed.

Mr Diu said there were troubles with his marriage and his wife had brainwashed him into having a second child.

"What the prosecution say, for reasons best known to the defendant, he set about getting assistance, what may be known as a hitman, to murder his wife and unborn child," Prosecutor Jeremy Janes was quoted as saying by the paper.

He said Mr Rasul had seen Mr Diu sitting in his car outside his house on Boxing Day and Mr Diu told him he was having marriage problems.

The court heard that an hour later Mr Diu went to Mr Rasul's home and said: "I want my wife killed. You must have contacts to get the job done."

Janes said: "This wasn't just an off-the-cuff remark. He said 'I'm good for the money - I will pay 25,000 to 50,000 pounds' and he had his bank statements with him.

"He said, effectively, I will give you the keys, somebody can go in through the back door and attack the wife with a hammer or plank of wood.

"Mercifully, Rasul wasn't going along with all this. He tried to talk the defendant out of it, saying 'Allah will never forgive you' and 'why don't you just divorce her?'.

The court heard that the following day Mr Diu asked if there was any way he could get rid of the baby and suggested a "hit and run".

Mr Rasul then went to the police and Mr Diu was arrested.

When police seized the family computer, officers discovered searches which included "abortion procedure" and "prison term for someone who murders their baby".

Mr Diu denies soliciting murder between December 24 and January 1. He claims he did not intend for his neighbour to act on what he said. The trial continues.