Boy, 16, in court charged with Bedford park murder

Ashish Sachdev Nahar died after being stabbed in a Bedford park

A 16-year-old boy has appeared at Luton Crown Court charged with murdering a man in Bedford's Jubilee Park.

The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, has been accused of fatally stabbing 25-year-old Ashish Sachdev Nahar on 29 June.

Judge Michael Simon said a plea hearing would take place on 21 September, with a trial date set for 4 December.

The youth, who appeared on a video link from Feltham Young Offender Institution, was remanded in custody.

Officers were called to reports of a stabbing at Jubilee Park in Bedford

Police had been called to the park at about 20:45 BST last Thursday.

Mr Nahar, who lived in Owen Close, Kempston, was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be a single stab wound to the heart.

A man in his 20s, who was arrested on Friday, was later released with no further action taken. A 46-year-old woman, arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, has been bailed.

Det Ch Insp Katie Dounias, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, called for further witnesses, saying: "I would urge anyone who might be able to assist the investigation to come forward to help us bring those responsible to justice."