London:
The Greater Manchester Police looking for a 20-year-old Indian-origin man, who has been missing since January 2, today said that a taxi driver may hold vital information about him.
Concern is growing for Gurdeep Hayer who has gone missing from a place in Manchester, which is less than 16 kilometres from where Anuj Bidve was killed on December 26.
Gurdeep Hayer, who is based in West Bormwich, travelled to Manchester on December 31 to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends. He stayed with them in the Fallowfield area of Manchester.
The police said that Gurdeep celebrated New Year's Eve and went out again with friends on the night of January 1. He was last seen leaving Sankeys, an entertainment centre, on his own, at 2.30am local time the following morning.
The police now believe that Gurdeep was picked up by a taxi from outside Sankeys. The taxi returned to the area, without Gurdeep, no more than eight minutes later.
Detective Sergeant Alan Hamlin, of South Manchester CID, said, "Gurdeep's family are clearly fraught with worry for him, as nobody has seen or heard anything from him for more than five days now. They simply want to know if he is safe".
He added, "He was seen leaving Sankeys but did not manage to make it back to his friend's house. Now we believe the taxi driver who picked Gurdeep up could have vital information for us. He came back a short while later so he could not have dropped him off very far away from Sankeys".
The police have urged anyone who may have seen Hayer or spoken to him in Sankeys or anywhere else in the area to contact them. Hayer was last seen wearing a navy blue polo shirt, black or blue jeans and trainers.
He is described as Asian, with a medium build, about 5ft 11" tall with spiky black hair with stubble, and he speaks with a Midlands accent.
The police have released photos of Gurdeep to help trace him.
On December 26, 23-year-old Anuj Bidve 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.