Man 'did not contribute to death'

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The father of a British man killed in India has denied his son contributed to his own demise.

Stephen Bennett, 40, from Cheltenham, was found hanging dead from a tree in a village near Roha, 75 miles from Mumbai on 11 December.

Four Indian men have been charged with his murder. Two more are being sought.

Mr Bennett's father Carol said he has a taped recorded message from Stephen saying: "I've done nothing wrong but for some reason I'm being intimidated."

Mr Bennett told the BBC he does not know why his son was murdered.

"If you are implying that he might have been there connected with some sort of drug trade the answer to that is emphatically no," he said to BBC Radio Four.

"Who knows? He may have said something, maybe intending it as a joke, there might be some language barrier there, I just don't know, but he has in no way contributed to his own unfortunate tragedy."

He may have said something, maybe intending it as a joke, but he has in no way contributed to his own unfortunate tragedy Carol Bennett

During his last phone call home, Mr Bennett told his mother Maureen he was terrified and being targeted with no explanation why.

He said he was travelling with two Indian men who were allegedly going to see a firework display in Mumbai.

"They seemed over friendly and from time to time they elapsed into their local language and their tone changed as they talked to one another so we were very anxious to try and get him to come back," said Carol Bennett.

Detectives initially said the father-of-two was killed after villagers mistook him for a sex attacker.

He had apparently frightened a local 25-year-old woman by calling at her home in the early hours of the morning.

The woman panicked and woke up two men, claiming she had been raped, and Mr Bennett was then killed. He had been beaten, throttled and hanged.

But the woman has since withdrawn her statement, the BBC has learned.

"I was sleeping in my house with my child on the day the police claim Stephen Bennett met me," she told BBC News.

Village leader Gajanan Malusari said no foreigners have visited Roha

"I've never seen him or met him before in my life. I know nothing about his murder or this investigation.

"The police came here with a document, asking me for my thumb impression. Now they say I have given them my statement."

And villagers gathered together and backed up her statement.

Village leader Gajanan Malusari said: "We have never had a Stephen Bennett here before - in fact, no foreigners have ever come to our small town."

Mr Bennett's wallet, which contained more than £300 in cash, was found next to his body, along with his passport.

The police are now looking into claims he may have been kidnapped.

The Inspector General in charge of the area, Satyapal Singh, said investigations were ongoing.