50-lakh thank you in Hannah’s name

‘‘I am happy to have helped the British police in arresting Kohli, a cold-blooded murderer,’’ said Jason Lepcha, a travel agent in Darjeeling. When Kohli first arrived in Darjeeling, he had come in contact with Lepcha who ran a taxi service in the town. Lepcha was one of the first to have identified the picture of Kohli and called up the British police hotline.

Roman Meta, Dhiraj Rai and Hemanth Khati of Darjeeling were some of the others to helped in getting Kohli arrested and, hence, will get the money.

Betts said though the police played a commendable part in arresting Kohli, no government official was being rewarded.

Hannah’s parents, Trevor and Hilary, had arrived in India on the trail of Kohli and provided pictures to the media. Kohli and his newly-wed wife were about to board a Nepal-bound bus when the Kalimpong police nabbed them following the tip-offs.

Betts said the Hampshire Police was now waiting for Kohli’s extradition. ‘‘There is no specific time-frame. It will depend entirely on the Indian Government. We are happy that the killer is in custody,’’ he said, part of a three-member team.

The British Deputy High Commission office in Kolkata said that out of a total reward money of Rs 50 lakh, Rs 45 lakh had been paid by the Hampshire Constabulary and Rs 5 lakh by Sun newspaper. ‘‘The delay in payment was caused in great part by our determination to ensure that the provision of a reward did not impact on the extradition procedures and to ensure that it goes to the appropriate people.’’