AN East Lancashire coroner has applied for details of a police probe into the death of a Burnley man.

East Lancashire Coroner Richard Taylor opened an inquest into the death of Burnley aid worker Michael Blakey at Burnley Magistrates' Court yester-day He then adjourned the hearing pending the outcome of the Indian police investigation into the death.

Coroner's Officer Bob Wilson said: "A second post mortem examination has been carried out on the body by Dr Charles Wilson at Burnley General Hospital and the coroner's office has applied to the Foreign Office for details of the investigation."

Police in India are holding the Indian husband of a British woman in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Michael.

Pawan Bhardwaj, the husband of Rachel Owen, who co-founded the Tong Len Charitable Trust with Michael, was arrested on Sunday by police in Dharamsala.

He has appeared in court and has been remanded in custody, although he has not been formally charged with the killing.

Bhardwaj, 28, has been the police's prime suspect since Michael's bludgeoned body was found in a gully under some rocks two weeks ago, near the remote Himalayan village where he had been working to help the region's poor.

A post mortem exam-ination showed that devout Christian Michael, of Mayfair Road, Pike Hill, had been killed by blows to the head and neck with a large rock. He was formally identified by Mrs Owen.

Bhardwaj, a trustee of Tong Len, had been repeatedly questioned by police last week when he admitted he had been jealous of his wife's close working relationship with Michael.

Police said they had found diary entries on Michael's laptop saying that he had been threatened by Bhardwaj.

Miss Owen, 35, has insisted her husband is innocent.

Tributes to Michael, who gained a first class honours degree in development studies from Swansea University, have been flooding into different websites, and Paul Blakey has also received a personal message of condolence from religious leader the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in Dharamsala. Hundreds of Indian villagers gathered there last week for "puja", or ritual prayers, to mark Michael's death.

Since founding the Tong Len charity with Miss Owen and a Tibetan monk in 2004, Michael had spent months living the most basic of lives in a monastery, working to help refugee families through healthcare and education.

Michael's funeral is expected to be held later this week.