THE man leading the hunt for the prime suspect in the murder of Southampton teenager Hannah Foster was today preparing to fly 2,000 miles across India to meet him face to face.

Det Supt Alan Betts, who had earlier made the four-hour drive from the Punjabi city of Chandigarh to Delhi, was heading for Kalimpong the bordertown where Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, was captured yesterday.

Residents there recognised Kohli from a photograph published in a newspaper report and he was arrested by police without a struggle.

Now the Hampshire policeman is set to fly to West Bengal as British authorities begin extradition proceedings to bring him back to the UK.

Det Supt Betts said: "I have been on the trail of Maninder Pal Singh Kohli for 16 months.

"It was a journey that began on March 15, 2003, when we got involved and this is another step, another hurdle to overcome on that journey.

"We still have some way to go. If it does turn out to be Kohli, and I strongly believe that it is, then he is still a suspect at this time and we will need to go through the process of extradition and then possible trial.

"At the moment I know I am going to West Bengal and until I see, and have it confirmed for myself, we cannot start the next part of the journey."

Det Supt Betts, who has been with Hannah's parents in India, said that he had been contacted by the director general of police in West Bengal notifying him of the arrest but said it would take a couple of days to confirm the man's identity.

He said: "We are working to establish that as quickly as possible but we are cautiously optimistic."

Kohli's 16 months on the run ended in a remote town in the foothills of the Himalayas - the world's highest mountain range.

He was arrested by Indian police after a tip-off in Kalimpong, some 465 miles north of Calcutta.

Police said they raided his residence at about 2pm local time on Wednesday, but found neither him nor Bharati Das, the Nepalese girl he apparently married just 15 days ago. Kohli is already married and has two young children.

Yesterday, they raised a house in Pradhan Nagar, but Kohli had slipped away moments before. The police then honed in Bharati's relative's home at Panighata. Kohli had already left and was trapped by police at a bus stand.

A police spokesman said: "Police received information that Kohli was trying to cross over to Nepal. Since he has been changing residence frequently, putting up with relatives of Bharati Das, it took some looking around."

Darjeeling police chief Rajiv Mishra said: "Kohli was apparently trying to flee to Nepal.

"He is Maninder Pal Singh Kohli. He has admitted that."

Mr Mishra said Kohli had been living under the name Dennis.

According to the police chief, Kohli had initially gone to his parents' home at Mohali near Chandigarh. Kohli had also visited Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai

He then moved to Darjeeling six months ago and checked into a hotel there, before moving to Kalimpong where he had been staying for the past three months.

Asked about the £65,000 reward promised for tracing Kohli, the Kalimpong police chief said: "It was through the media that we came to know about the whereabouts of Kohli and not through any person. We are not aware of the reward nor interested in it."

According to reports in the Indian press, Kohli was also known as Mike Davis.

He moved into a rented house in Kalimpong after getting married working. He apparently worked as a doctor actively involved with the Indian Red Cross Society in spreading awareness about Hepatitis B.

Indian police said they had had a positive response from the public to appeals by Hilary and Trevor Foster with a new hotline receiving 1,100 calls in 48 hours.

Kohli's arrest came two days after Hannah's parents publicised a reward of £65,000 for information leading to his capture. Subsequently Kohli's picture appeared on front pages and television news broadcasts nationwide.

The couple were today in the city of Chandigarh - Kohli's home town where he is believed to have visited after leaving the UK in March last year. Mrs Foster said: "Everywhere we go everyone wants to help. It's given us such a boost."

For Kohli's father, Jagjit Singh, he said he was relieved to hear that his son was still alive. He said: "My gut feeling is that he could be innocent. I hope the trial is fair."

He added: "Thank God he has been arrested. We won't be harassed anymore."

Jagjit, whose wife has been in a coma for 18 months, said he had no money to fight his son's case. He revealed his son's visit to India was planned following his mother's illness.

He explained: "His mother fell ill in December 2002 and he reached India in March next and stayed with us for 10 days from March 19 to 28.

"But then he received a call from England. He decided to leave home immediately and said he would have to go to England to fetch his family."

The breakthrough is a triumph for the efforts of the Fosters who, when they stepped on a plane bound for India last week, could have had little idea what an impact their visit would have. Initial reaction from the couple was cautious but the breakthrough of the arrest was evident on their faces.

Speaking from Chandigarh Mrs Foster said: "I never expected anything like this to happen so quickly. We are absolutely delighted. This is the best result we could ever have hoped for." She added: "During the past five days we have been up and down on an emotional roller coaster.

"We are just keeping our fingers crossed that the man arrested is the right man."

Mr Foster said: "We would like to thank the people of India from the bottom of our hearts for their support and help during our visit.

"This is the first step in the process that will lead to extradition and an eventual trial."

Hannah's body was discovered beside Allington Lane near West End on March 16, 2003. This was two days after she disappeared just half a mile from her home in Portswood as she was returning home from a night out.

A post-mortem examination revealed she had been raped and strangled.

One of the largest murder investigations ever undertaken by Hampshire police was launched with more than 100 detectives involved at the height of the inquiry.

Matthew Lefroy, curate at Highfield Church which is close to the Fosters' home and was where Hannah's funeral was held, said: "We are watching developments with interest.

"We have been praying for Trevor and Hilary for a long time now and we have been thinking about them especially while they have been in India. We are just happy there seems to be a development for them."

For more on the hunt for Maninder Pal Singh Kohli - see pages 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 of today's Daily Echo.