In an apparent racist attack, an elderly non resident Indian taxi driver was murdered by a thief who stole his cab and then ran him over.

A 20-year-old youth has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Gian Chand Bajar, 71, who was also the chairman of the Guru Nanak temple in Gravesend, Kent, police said on Friday.

Witnesses saw Bajar being assaulted and run over in St Benedict's Avenue on Tuesday night. He was taken to the Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, but succumbed to his injuries.

Bajar -- who was married to 62-year-old Amarjit, the mother of his five children -- had been driven over by his own vehicle, possibly twice, the witnesses told police. His silver Skoda Octavia was found burnt out in an alley next to Dorchester Avenue and Lamorna Avenue.

Chief Superintendent Gary Beautridge, who is leading the murder investigation, described Chand as an "upstanding member of the community," who had been the victim of a "heinous and cowardly crime."

"We are keeping an open mind, but we would certainly not rule out that the attack was racially motivated," he said.

Chand came to England in 1971 from Punjab where, as a civil servant, he was responsible for land allocation. He worked as a builder, and later on the channel tunnel rail Link project through Kent.

As the Sikh community voiced its anger, local taxi drivers claimed that the murder had been "waiting to happen" because of the failure of police to tackle taxi assaults.

Chand was said to have played a prominent role in promoting community relations.

His son, Telu, 35, fought back tears as he said: "I just want the police to catch them (those responsible for his father's murder) so they do not have the opportunity to do this again. It was a cruel and callous crime."

Telu described his father as a workaholic who lived for his family.

Chand was semi-retired and worked part-time for the Millennium Data Cabs in Gravesend.

Nirmal Thandi, the company's co-owner, said: "You could not have met a nicer man. He was very family-oriented and did a lot of work for the community. He wouldn't hurt a fly."