UK girl's murder: Prime suspect arrested

Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, prime suspect in the rape and murder of a British teenaged girl, was on Thursday arrested from Panitanki on the Indo-Nepal border in West Bengal's Darjeeling district.

Kohli, who had settled down in the area after marrying a Nepalese woman, was arrested on Wednesday night following a tip off from locals after police flashed his photographs on television channels, Inspector General of Police (North Bengal) Bageesh Mishra told reporters in Kolkata.

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Kohli, a truck driver by profession, is suspected of having abducted Hannah Foster in London in March 2003. The 17-year-old's body was found in Elington Lane two days after she went missing. A post-mortem revealed that she was raped before being killed.

Kohli left the United Kingdom after this incident and was believed to be living in his native Punjab. However, the local police failed to arrest him.

The victim's parents, Travor and Hillary Foster, came to India on July 12 in pursuit of Kohli and at a press conference in Delhi offered a reward of Rs 50 lakh (approximately $113,636) to anyone giving information that can lead to his arrest.

The fugitive, who had confessed to being the wanted man, was being interrogated at the Kalimpong police station, Mishra said.