THE PRIME suspect in the rape and murder of Hampshire student Hannah Foster could have disappeared to India with thousands of pounds.

His father Harjit Singh revealed that Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, the man wanted by police in connection with the murder of Hannah, had sold his Southampton flat just days before the 17-year-old's body was discovered in a country lane near her Southampton home.

The cash could mean that the Kohli has enough money to live in India for years.

Mr Singh has declared his son is innocent. He claims that he flew to India to visit his mother who is in a coma after falling from a bus.

He said: "Just perchance, he sold his flat some days earlier and within that period that incident happened."

Kohli arrived at his parent's home in India around five days after Hannah's murder.

He had been struggling to pay debts in Southampton.

Mr Singh added: "He even told me on the phone "Daddy it's better that I should dispose of it and pay the remaining amount and save up or something and I should come here and see my mother."

It is also believed he may have borrowed £10,000.

The 35-year-old father of two, who worked as a sandwich delivery driver in Southampton, has become one of Britain's most wanted men since it was revealed he was the prime suspect in the police investigation.

But there has been no trace of him since he arrived in the sub-continent.

Gerry McCrudden from the British High Commission in Delhi said: "£10,000 is a lot of money in India. An average person living modestly could live maybe two, three, or four years. £10,000 is about three times - it could be even more - the national annual income for an average working person in India."

On Monday, the Daily Echo revealed that a "substantial" reward is being offered for Kohli's capture.

It is thought that the sum on offer will be at least 500,000 rupees (about £7,100) - more than twice the average salary in the Punjab.

Hannah was murdered after being abducted just yards from her home in Grosvenor Road Southampton as she walked back from a night out on March 14.

Her strangled body was found dumped in Allington Lane, West End, two days later. Police confirmed she had been raped.

Her death prompted Hampshire police to launch one of the county's biggest murder hunts, with more than 100 officers on the case.

The investigation, based at Hulse Road divisional police headquarters in Southampton was scaled down following the identification of the prime suspect, following a tip-off resulting from the BBC's Crimewatch UK programme.

A squad of about 15 officers remain working on the investigation full time.