CLAIMS there have been unnecessary delays in tracking down the suspected killer of Hampshire student Hannah Foster were today denied by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Reports have suggested the prime suspect has gone on the run in his native India because CPS lawyers and police officers have dragged their heels over sending an arrest warrant overseas.

The 35-year-old fled Southampton two days after Hannah's strangled body was found dumped in a country lane at West End.

Police said the man, a married father-of-two, had caught a flight from Heathrow to India on March 18.

He was identified as the main suspect on March 28, following a tip-off to police after the BBC's Crimewatch UK appeal. An arrest warrant was faxed to the Indian authorities via Interpol on April 8.

Earlier this week two national newspapers claimed paperwork delays had allowed the suspect to go on the run for a second time in the Punjab.

It is thought the man spent ten days with his family in Chandigarh, north India, before again disappearing. But today the CPS and Hampshire police defended their actions.

Alastair Nisbet, head of the CPS's special casework unit in Hampshire, said: "The procedure for arranging for an arrest in a foreign jurisdiction is much more complex than it is for an arrest in this country.

"Within the 11 days between March 28 and April 8, in co-operation with the police, we have made a decision to prosecute and extradite, and have acted on that decision.

"The procedure leading to arrest and extradition must be undertaken with considerable care as otherwise the foreign authorities may refuse to arrest their national or, having arrested him, they may feel obliged to release him and extradition would fail.''

Hampshire police spokeswoman Lucy Dibdin added: "The Indian police are working extremely hard and are undertaking a tremendous amount of inquiries on our behalf to locate the suspect.''