Chandigarh, July 16: A very different Hilary and Trevor Foster faced the media today.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we expect an arrest would be made while we were in the middle of this short visit,” said Trevor, whose daughter Hannah, 17, was raped and murdered after being abducted in Southampton, UK, on March 14 last year.

“We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Indian people. Not only have you come forward with new and important information to facilitate this arrest but have taken Hilary and I, strangers from a distant land, into your hearts and minds,” Foster said with tears in his eyes.

“Your sympathy and understanding have helped ease the pain in our tragic loss,” he added.

Relieved at the arrest of Maninderpal Singh Kohli, the prime suspect in the rape and murder, Trevor said the accused’s fingerprints matched with those left at the scene of crime.

“We are emotionally exhausted by this experience, but we are thankful to the Indian police for making the arrest,” Trevor read out from a statement.

“The tears are of relief, of joy and gratitude to the Indian people,” Hannah’s father mumbled.

The Fosters came to India on Tuesday to appeal for information on Kohli.