The father of an Indian student shot dead in Britain pleaded on a visit to the Houses of Parliament in London on Thursday for other Indians studying in the country to be allowed to live in safety.
Anuj Bidve’s father Subhash and mother Yogini were met by British lawmaker Keith Vaz, who promised them that they would receive justice for the 23-year-old’s murder in Salford, northwest England.
A 20-year-old English man, Kiaran Stapleton, who described himself as “Psycho” in court, is accused of the murder and has been remanded in custody.
Anuj, who was studying at Lancaster University, was shot in the head at point-blank range in Salford as he walked into Manchester city centre with Indian friends on December 26.
Vaz, flanked by Anuj’s parents, said he had promised them that once the criminal proceedings had been completed he would obtain a full account of the incident so that they could have “closure”.
“Unless they have that information there can never be closure because they simply cannot understand how this has happened,” the lawmaker said.
Vaz described the murder as a “tragic accident” and said that over the last five years, 187,000 Indian students had come to study in Britain.
“We value that relationship and we want to send out a message to those who come to study here that this is the best place in the world to study and the safest place,” Vaz added.
Fighting back tears, Subhash Bidve said: “Thank you to everyone for the concern that everyone has about our son Anuj.
“It was really unfortunate that I lost my son, but I feel myself as a father that this should not happen again because a lot of Indian students come here for their education and they go back to their own countries.”
His father said Anuj had come to Britain to study microelectronics and had been working on a “very special project” at the time of his death.
“He was very happy staying here and doing his work and I feel it could have been a very great asset not only to India, but to the world — that is the kind of work he was doing,” Subhash said.
The Bidves arrived in Britain on Wednesday and have seen the body of their son. They are also visiting Manchester.
