Three teenagers were taken into custody after a Muslim youth was stabbed to death in a possible racially motivated attack in Dewsbury West Yorkshire, police said on Monday.

Seventeen-year-old Ahmed Hassan, a sixth form student at Heckmondwike Grammar School, was attacked near the town's railway station on Sunday afternoon.

Hassan was on his way to Manchester for a shopping trip with a friend when he was stabbed in the heart. His friend held him until the emergency services arrived. He died later at Dewsbury and District Hospital.

A 24-year-old man was arrested and later released. But three other young men aged 17, 18 and 19 who are all believed to be white were still being held for questioning.

Shahid Malik, Minister for International Development and MP for Dewsbury said that Hassan was a model citizen who had simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said the police were investigating whether the attack was racially motivated.

"This was a complete innocent, a young man who has no history of trouble. He was a model pupil and a model citizen and he encountered people that have evil intent," Malik said.

He said the stabbing had cast a shadow over the area, which was preparing to celebrate Christmas and the Muslim festival of Eid.

"Police would like to appeal for anyone who may have been passing through Dewsbury railway station at around 1400 hrs who may have witnessed the incident and be able to help police with inquiries," a police spokesman said.

Source: Hindustan Times