British police investigating the ''horrific'' murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve have offered a 50,000-pound reward to trace the killer and apologised to the victim's family for delay in informing about the incident after it emerged that they learnt of his death from Facebook.
Bidve, 23, was shot in the head at point-blank range as he walked with friends near their hotel in the inner-city Ordsall district of Greater Manchester in the early hours of December 26.
The murder of the Indian student is being treated by the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) detectives as a "hate crime" which may have been racially motivated.
Senior officers from the police force last evening announced the cash reward of 50,000 pounds and said they hoped it would help get the killer gunman caught as soon as possible.
Detective Chief Supt Mary Doyle, leading the murder inquiry, said: "It is an extremely unusual, savage and motiveless attack, an absolutely horrific crime, which is why we are taking the step of issuing it (the reward) a bit earlier than we normally would."
Police have not said whether investigators have so far met with a wall of silence from the local community in Ordsall, one of the most deprived inner-city districts of Greater Manchester, according to the Press Association.
Police said a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys arrested over the murder have been released on bail pending further inquiries. Two men, aged 19 and 20, remain in custody. The British police also apologised to the murdered student family after it emerged that the victim's father learnt of his son's death from Facebook.
The father, Subhash Bidve, read a post on the social networking site before officers were able to get in touch with him in India to deliver the news about his son.
Assistant chief constable Dawn Copley said: "A family liaison officer was quickly put in place after Anuj's murder who made exhaustive inquiries to try and inform the family and deliver the awful news personally. Unfortunately, as the officer was attempting to contact the family through the right channels, a post was put on Facebook.
"Since then, we have had two family liaison officers in regular contact with Anuj's immediate family and those who speak on his behalf to keep them updated about every step of the progress of the investigation. Greater Manchester Police is also working very hard to bring the family over to Manchester as soon as possible."
