Fifth arrest made in UK over Indian student's murder case

London, Dec 29: Another youth has been arrested by the British police in connection with the killing of Indian student Anuj Bidve, taking to five the total number of suspects being held in the case.

A 20-year-old man was the fifth person arrested by police which has already rounded up four people, including two teenagers. The man is being questioned on suspicion of murdering Bidve, who was shot in the head at close range in an "unprovoked" attack on December 26 in Salford.

Bidve, from Pune, was with nine Indian students on Monday when they were approached by two men in Salford. He was shot at close range after a "very short" conversation. Bidve died as a result of "gun trauma" to the head, post-mortem revealed. 23-year-old Bidve was a student of Microelectronics at Lancaster University.

The police have not ruled out racism as a motive for the killing. The two men who approached the group of students at Salford were described as white men. Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in the UK assured all possible help in expediting the process of repatriation of Bidve's body to India.

The consulate General of India in Birmingham and the Indian High Commission said that they were "deeply" saddened at the "unfortunate" and tragic killing. "The concerned authorities have also been suitably sensitised about the family's wish to have the dead body repatriated to India at the earliest," the High Commission said in a statement today.

PTI