Hannah murder suspect faces extradition

Last updated at 14:52 17 July 2004


The prime suspect in the murder of student Hannah Foster came a step closer to extradition from India today.

An Indian court asked state police to hand Maninder Pal Singh Kohli over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which will start proceedings to send him to Britain.

Kohli, whom British police identified as the main suspect in the March 2003 rape and murder of Hannah Foster, was arrested in India's West Bengal state on Thursday.

Police spokesman Rajiv Mishra today said the CBI would turn Kohli over to Interpol after completing extradition formalities.

"A CBI team will come to take Kohli in two to three days," he said.

Kohli's arrest came two days after Hannah's parents Hilary and Trevor Foster held a news conference in New Delhi announcing a reward for information.

Local residents of Kalimpong near the Nepalese border, recognised Kohli's picture from a newspaper report and contacted police.

On the run

Kohli is believed to have flown from Heathrow airport four days after 17-year-old Hannah was abducted about half a mile from her home in Southampton, Hants, in March last year.

He is understood to have taken a job working as a volunteer for the Red Cross in India and married a colleague two weeks ago despite having a wife and two children in the UK.

A spokeswoman for Hampshire Police said yesterday: "We are as satisfied as we can be without fingerprint or DNA confirmation that the man arrested in West Bengal on Wednesday is Maninder Pal Singh Kohli."

Hannah's parents held a press conference yesterday in Chandigarh to thank the media, police and people of India for their help.

Mr Foster said: "We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Indian people.

"Not only have you come forward with new and important information to facilitate this arrest but you have taken Hilary and I, strangers from a distant country, into your hearts and minds during the short time we have been here.

"Your sympathy, understanding and support has given us great comfort and helped ease the pain of our tragic loss."

Detectives from Hampshire Police are working with the Crown Prosecution Service to prepare a file for extradition proceedings against Kohli - a process which could take months.

Kohli is under arrest on a warrant sworn out at Southampton Magistrates Court in relation to alleged offences of kidnap, rape and murder of Hannah Foster, the police spokeswoman said.

Once back in the country, Kohli would be brought to court to face these charges, a Hampshire Police spokeswoman said.

Hannah was abducted about half a mile from her home in Portswood, Southampton, on March 14 last year. Her body was found two days later at the side of a country lane in the outskirts of the city.

A post-mortem examination showed she had been raped and strangled.

Hannah was a promising student who had gained places at university to study medicine.

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