Weeping Parents Of Anuj Bidve Pay Emotional Visit To Crime Scene In UK
London, Jan 6: Distraught parents of 23-year-old engineering student Anuj Bidve today paid an emotional visit to the scene of his murder at Ordall Lane in Salford, Manchester.It was at this place that Anuj was
London, Jan 6: Distraught parents of 23-year-old engineering student Anuj Bidve today paid an emotional visit to the scene of his murder at Ordall Lane in Salford, Manchester.
It was at this place that Anuj was shot in the head at point blank range on Boxing Day by a fanatic.
Anuj's parents, Subhash and mother Yogini, visited the Ordsall Lane spot where tributes and flowers had been left.
The trip follows a visit yesterday to meet their son's friends and fellow students at Lancaster University where he studied.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who was also visiting Salford, assured the family that the British police and justice system would do ‘everything possible' to catch and punish his killer. Cameron spoke on phone with Anuj's father after they had made their emotional visit.
During his trip to Salford earlier in the day, Cameron said that Anuj Bidve's life had been ‘cruelly and brutally ended'.
‘My message, on behalf of the whole country, is one of huge sympathy and understanding to them. An absolutely horrific act has taken their son away from them, and it is absolutely essential the Greater Manchester Police do everything they can to get to the bottom of what happened and make sure the person is rightly brought to justice and there is a very tough punishment.
‘It's unacceptable to have this sort of crime going on in our country.'
The couple, who flew in from India following the death of their only son, will be taking his body home later Friday.
As they made their way along the line of flowers and tributes the grief was clear to see as the young student's mother openly wept by the spot where he died, reports Daily Mail.
Anuj's father Subhash said it had been an ‘exceedingly difficult journey' and that they had been ‘deeply moved' by the support the family had been shown Police blocked off the lane to allow the family to visit the spot in peace.
Anuj's family addressed the media on Ordsall Lane saying: ‘As you can imagine this has been an extremely difficult journey to make. Anuj was our only son and we cannot comprehend his death.'
He added: ‘We do not blame the people of the city for what happened. The only person we blame is the man responsible for taking Anuj away from us.'
This is the family's statement in full: 'We have made the journey from India in order to see Anuj, see the place where he died, and most importantly take Anuj home with us.
‘Whilst in England we have taken the opportunity to meet a number of other people who were involved in Anuj's life and to achieve our goal of taking Anuj back home with us as soon as possible.
‘As you can imagine this has been an exceedingly difficult journey to make.
‘When Anuj left India in September last year he was full of hope and ambition for the future. We were all so very proud of him.
‘Anuj was our only son and we cannot comprehend this dreadful tragedy.
‘We do not blame the people of this city for what happened. The only person we blame is the man responsible for taking Anuj away from us in such a senseless act of violence on Boxing Day morning.
‘We have been deeply moved and have taken comfort from the hundreds of messages we have received from the people in Salford and Lancaster and especially the Indian community and would like to take this opportunity to say thank you.
‘We have been overwhelmed by the reaction and interest of the media both at home in India and here in the United Kingdom.
‘We would like to thank the police for the manner in which this investigation has been conducted. We are confident in the British justice system and sincerely hope that this will eventually bring justice for Anuj.
‘We now wish to have some time on our own to take in the enormity of the situation and say some prayers for Anuj at the very place where he died.'
The family laid flowers at the scene and prayed for their son after addressing the media.
At the request of the family, the cameras were turned off as they paid their own tribute to their son.
They spent the morning retracing Anuj's final moments and earlier visited the hotel room where he had stayed.
It has not been in use since the death of Anuj at the request of the police, acting on behalf of the family.
Yesterday, they collected his belongings from Lancaster University and met his friends and tutors.
It is understood Anuj was in the UK on a shopping holiday and that he and his friends were on their way to the early morning Next sale in Manchester.
The family met with Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz for 35 minutes on Thursday to discuss the police investigation into their son's death and to plead for justice.
Vaz pledged to get a full report on the incidents surrounding the death of Mr Bidve following the completion of the criminal proceedings. He said it was needed to help the family get closure.
The couple flew into the UK on Wednesday with brother-in-law Rakesh Sonawane.
Kiaran Stapleton, 20, of Ordsall, has been charged with his murder. He has been remanded in custody.
Police last week said they were treating the killing as a ‘hate crime' which may have been racially motivated.
The 20-year-old youth, called “Psycho Stapleton” has been charged with Anuj's murder and remanded in custody until a plea and case management hearing on March 20.
Three other people arrested on suspicion of Anuj's murder have been granted bail until March pending further inquiries.
A fourth man, aged 19, had his bail cancelled.