KILLER Maninder Pal Singh Kohli was tracked down to India and brought to justice due to the determination of the Hannah Foster's parents to get justice for their daughter.

That was what galvanised Hilary and Trevor into making the emotional journey to India where their daughter's killer was hiding.

Sixteen months after the murder and with the trail running cold, they boarded a plane bound for Delhi to set up a special call centre that would receive reports or sightings of him.

"We would write letter after letter to politicians and authorities in India but never get a reply. We were very disappointed every time the police came back from India and so we decided to go there ourselves," said Hilary.

"We got on the plane not sure that it was really going to achieve anything. But when we got there and saw the size of the call centre that they had created out there, that's when I began to get the feeling of some hope."

Hilary added: "I thought it would get up and running, that we would come home, and that just maybe in a few weeks they would take that call. Nobody in their wildest dreams thought it would happen while we were there."

The call centre had opened on Tuesday July 14, 2004, and after a flurry of calls, Kohli was arrested the following day.

"We were locked in a hotel room when it happened. It was unbelievable news," recalled Hilary and Trevor who had their hopes raised by the high commissioner that Kohli's extradition would take, in the worst case scenario, a year to process.

The truth was that it was to take three years later before he would return to British soil, during which time they returned to India a number of times.

It was inside an Indian courtroom that they were to first lay eyes on their daughter's killer.

"All I remember was sitting there, waiting for him to be called before the judge. I couldn't resist, I had to look round at him. My heart was racing as I sat and stared. He was doing anything but look at us.

"I kept very strong and eventually he made eye contact with us. It was only about two seconds and then he looked away. That's the only time I have been able to look at him.

"I shut my eyes and couldn't open them again. My nerves were shot. I remember wanting to get out of there and Trevor saying to me "we're not leaving until he does'. Those few minutes felt like hours.

"I think we both felt powerless. You are sitting there looking at the man who did that to Hannah."

The couple played a powerful part in the mission to get Kohli back to the UK.

"You would achieve one thing and then it would be on to the next but we have always been absolutely determined that he should face justice so that's what kept us going.

"To anyone else it didn't really matter how long it took, as long as it was happening. But to Trevor and I it was everything. We wanted it to happen as quickly as possible.

"I think my biggest fear for a lot of the time was that he might escape. They don't use handcuffs over there. In court he was merely holding another man's hand. It all seemed so insecure.

"When we heard he was on that plane back and it had taken off I just burst into tears. It was a very strange time knowing he was suddenly back, close to where we were."