A MARRIED father was stabbed to death in what police believe may have been an unprovoked, racist attack.
Delivery driver Mohammed Saleem Khan died after being found behind the wheel of a rented Ford Transit van, which had crashed into bollards in Long Street, Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
An off-duty police officer found the 37-year-old at 2.30am, on Sunday, suffering from life-threatening injuries.
He was taken to York Hospital where he underwent emergency treatment, but died later that day.
Because he was not wearing a seatbelt, police initially suspected he had been involved in a road accident, but a postmortem examination revealed Mr Khan had been stabbed in the neck.
Police launched a hunt for his killer and detectives then arrested a 26-year-old local man on suspicion of murder.
Three other people from the Easingwold area – a 20-yearold woman and two men aged 21 and 25 – were also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Detectives said they believe Mr Khan, who is originally from Luton, but had recently moved to Birmingham, may have been the victim of a racist attack.
Last night, it was still unclear whether Mr Khan was stabbed while in the vehicle or whether he was attacked in the street and died as he tried to drive away.
Mr Khan was working as a shower products delivery driver and had made numerous drops across North Yorkshire.
His schedule included a delivery in Easingwold, but detectives are trying to establish why he was still in the area in the early hours.
Detective Chief Inspector Heather Pearson, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “This is a tragic incident for Mr Khan’s family and speciallytrained officers are supporting them at this extremely difficult time.
“At this stage, there are a number of lines of inquiry that are being progressed.
“One aspect of the investigation is that this may have been an unprovoked, racially motivated attack. However, I am keeping an open mind about the motive.
“At this time a murder weapon has not been found and I am appealing to members of the public in Easingwold to report any discarded objects – be that weapons or clothing – to the police.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.
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