Detectives investigating the suspicious death of Mohammad Khan have revealed the teenager was seen struggling with a man shortly before he vanished.

The body of the disabled teenager, missing from his London home since January 2, was found on January 15 in a landfill site in Hertford.

A post mortem revealed that Mohammad had sustained severe crush injuries before his death, including many broken bones throughout his torso.

On the day the 18-year-old vanished, a young man fitting his description was seen with a man holding his arm between 2.30pm and 2.45pm in Woodget Close, Beckton E6.

They were standing by a van, described as "dull red" in colour, which had damage to the front offside wing and headlight. The headlight was smashed but taped up to hold the glass in place, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

The passenger door was open and both men were standing in front of it. The man had hold of the young Asian male's arm and was pulling him towards the van.

The young Asian male was resisting and at one stage managed to release his arm from the man's grip. The man then grabbed hold of his other arm.

The Scotland Yard spokesman said it was not clear what happened after this. The man is described as white, about 5O years old, and around 5ft 10ins tall. He was heavy built and had a "large beer belly" the spokesman said.

He had a ruddy complexion and thinning, grey hair. He wore heavy, black-framed glasses and a navy-blue body warmer, dark sweatshirt and denim jeans which were tucked into tan calf-length boots. The boots have been described as the type worn by builders.

Police are anxious to trace this man as a matter or urgency and are appealing for anyone who knows someone matching his description to come forward, the spokesman said.

They are also appealing for anyone who saw the "distinctive" damaged van to come forward. It may not be in the local area, the spokesman said.

More details have been released of Mohammad's injuries. He suffered a broken back, broken shoulder joints and all except one of his ribs was broken. He also had injuries to his face and neck.

Police were still trying to find out how Mohammad's body ended up at the waste disposal site in Hertford. Enquiries have so far revealed that the site is mostly used by waste disposal firms from western and northern parts of London, rather than the east. Firms in Hertfordshire also use the site, the Scotland Yard spokesman said.

DCI Bryan Sweeting, from the Serious Crime Group East, said: "Clearly this latest information gives us great cause for concern and we would urgently ask anyone with information either about this man or the red van to contact us as soon as possible."

Anyone with information is asked to call the SCG East incident room on 020 8345 3865 or if you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

January 28, 2003 11:00