The Greater Manchester Police looking for a 20-year-old Indian-origin man, who has been missing since January 2, on Monday 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. Based in West Bromwich, Gurdeep was last seen in Manchester in the early hours of January 2.
He travelled to Manchester on December 31 to celebrate New Year's Eve. Gurdeep went out with friends on the night of January 1. He was seen leaving the Sankeys nightclub in Manchester, on his own, at 2.15am the following morning.
The police now believe that Gurdeep was picked up by a taxi from outside the nightclub. 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 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 time later so he could not have dropped him off very far away from Sankeys".
The police have urged anyone who may have seen him 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 11in 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.