Drivers offer reward to catch killer

Taxi drivers have raised a £1,000 reward to catch the killer of their colleague whose body and car were set on fire.

Sarfraz Khan, 30, was brutally stabbed up to six times by one or more passengers he had picked up outside a school in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, early on Saturday morning.

His remains were found in his burnt-out Ford Mondeo at a nature reserve.

Sarfraz Khan was stabbed six times by a hunting knife

A squad of 30 police officers is now hunting for his killer.

Taxi drivers from the area have clubbed together to offer the reward in an effort to catch the killer, according to the officer leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Phil Jones.

"The taxi drivers are so concerned for their own safety when they are going to work that they have held this collection," he said.

"They have offered £1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Mr Khan's death."

Robbery

Mr Jones said police believed the motive for the killing was robbery as about £100 was missing from Mr Khan's taxi.

"But we cannot overlook the idea that it may be racist," he said.

Mr Khan, who was separated from his wife and lived in Rotherham with his sister and brother-in-law, had been working for A1 Association Taxis in the town for just over a week.

It's a dangerous job and taxi drivers are being attacked all the time

Jeff Williams, A1 Association Taxis

He received a booking made from a public phone in Upper Wortley Road, which asked him to pick up a fare at the entrance of Thorpe Hesley Infant and Junior School.

His body and burnt-out car were found at a nature reserve a few miles down the road.

A post mortem examination later found that Mr Khan had been stabbed with a five-inch blade hunting knife.

Mr Jones said officers were now following a new lead which could prove significant in the hunt for Mr Khan's killer.

He said a woman had seen an Asian taxi driver arguing with two white men around the time that the call was received.

New leads

She told police the two white males, both in their 30s, were pushing the Asian man.

"After dropping her friends off, the lady driver turned round and saw the blond male stumbling about with blood on his shirt.

"When she got back to where she had seen the taxi, the vehicle had gone," said Mr Jones.

"The times involved in the calling of the taxi and the spotting of this incident do not tally but we cannot overlook the fact that people could have got the wrong times

"This Asian could have been Mr Khan and the information this woman has given us could prove to be highly significant."

Jeff Williams, co-owner of A1 Association Taxis, said Rotherham's taxi community was "in great shock" about the murder.

"All our drivers are upset and shocked. It's a dangerous job and taxi drivers are being attacked all the time."