More police help Hannah case

Hannah was going to Bristol University to study medicine

The Indian equivalent of the National Crime Squad has been drafted in to help trace the prime suspect for the murder of Hannah Foster.

The 35-year-old man fled to India on 18 March, four days after 17-year-old Hannah disappeared from near her home in Portswood, Southampton.

Officers from the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), based in Delhi, have joined the hunt for the man, who is thought to be in the Punjab area.

A team of six officers from Hampshire Police are ready to fly out to India as soon as an arrest is made.

We are doing everything we can to secure justice for Hannah and her family

Hampshire police spokeswoman

A Hampshire Police spokeswoman said they were in daily contact with the Indian authorities.

It emerged on Sunday that the suspect stayed with his family in India for 10 days after fleeing there on 18 March.

Hampshire Police denied there was any delay in alerting the Indian authorities that the suspect was in the subcontinent.

The force spokeswoman said: "It's not a simple process, there's a huge amount of documentation and we have to be very careful to do it right.

"Any mistakes and it could harm the chances of securing a conviction.

"Several different documents had to be prepared - we had officers working 20-hour days.

"We are doing everything we can to secure justice for Hannah and her family."

Alastair Nisbet, the Crown Prosecution Service lawyer, dealing with the case, said: "It's not the same as arresting someone in the UK, where the police can detain anyone they suspect of a crime.

"For extradition proceedings we need to show enough evidence to get a prosecution.

"The police were working flat-out to gather evidence and I was confident we had enough and asked the Indian police to arrest him."

Hannah disappeared minutes from her house in Portswood, Southampton, after a night out with friends.

Her body was discovered two days later dumped in undergrowth on Allington Lane, West End.