THE brothers of the man suspected of Hannah Foster's murder look set to face criminal charges in India for allegedly helping him while he was on the run.

Ishpreet Singh Kohli and Amrit Pal Singh Kohli have been interrogated by Punjab police officers and are being held in a police lock-up.

Mr AA Siddiqui, head of the region's police force, said they discovered a coded e-mail message which, they say, proves that Ishpreet and Amrit helped their brother while he was in hiding in India, also supplying him with money to live on.

Ishpreet, who works as a Punjab police intelligence officer, had appeared on Indian television in May last year with his 70-year-old father Jagit, urging Maninder Pal Singh Kohli to give himself up.

He had said: "He has to give himself up. If he has done something he has to face the consequences."

Mr Siddiqui also revealed that that family home in the town of Mohali had been under surveillance for several months while the hunt for Kohli continued.

The brothers were arrested and later quizzed in a police lock-up in the town of Ropar, he said.

Prime suspect Kohli is being held under guard in another station in Mohali, he said.

The 35-year-old fled South-ampton, leaving behind his two children and wife Shalinder just days after Hannah's body was found dumped in undergrowth in Allington Lane, West End. She had been raped and strangled.

Her murder in March 2003 sparked a 16-month manhunt by Hampshire and Punjab police, which only came to an end earlier this month when Kohli was captured in a remote town in the foothills of the Himalayas. His arrest came days after Hannah's

parents Hilary and Trevor travelled to India to appeal directly to the public for their help.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo, Mr Siddiqui said last night: "The e-mail was in code and we were able to break it. They sent him money also. We will charge them with aiding and abetting a criminal's escape.

"They will appear in court and that will be in the next three to six months."

He added that Kohli, who married a Nepalese woman after leaving the country, had been remanded in custody until August 5 and was staying in a small station that can only hold five or six people.

There are no beds - Kohli is sleeping on the floor and is on a diet of bread, lentils and water.

Mr Siddiqui said: "We don't give nice treatment. He doesn't get any sympathy here. There is a police station guard and the lock-up is very strong and cannot be broken."

He added that no members of Kohli's family had been allowed access to him since his capture.

Hampshire's Crown Prosecution Service is preparing extradition papers requesting Kohli's return to the UK.