Candlelight vigil held for Anuj Bidve in Salford

Anuj Bidve’s murder has sent shockwaves through the Indian community in the UK.

As anger still simmers over the murder of the Indian student in Manchester last week, a candlelight vigil was held on Monday evening by his friends in the city as a mark of a silent protest.

An online campaign for justice to Bidve was initiated by Bidve’s friends on Facebook.  Vikrant Gupta, one of Bidve’s friends, who had begun the online campaign, told CNN-IBN that the murderer was not in his right state of mind while committing such an act.

“Indians students feel insecure, they get worried about such things. It has happened once  and I hope it doesn’t happen again,” Gupta said.

The event initially organised by friends of Bidve on Facebook, saw a large number of people from across England gathered at the spot in Salford where the 23-year-old was killed, to pay their last respects.

Besides Bidve’s friends, local leaders and residents are also appalled at the incident.

A similar vigil also planned in New Delhi is scheduled to culminate outside the British High Commission.

Bidve, who was a postgraduate student of Microelectronics at the Lancaster University, was shot dead at point blank range on 26 December when he was walking down the street in Salford near Manchester with a group of Indian friends.

Two top police officials from Manchester, UK, met Bidve’s family on Monday and apologised to them for having to learn about Bidve’s death through Facebook instead of appropriate official channels.

Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley said: “We felt it was important to make personal contact with the family and offer them every support we could at this difficult time.

“We need to explain to them in person where we are up to in the investigation and what we are doing to ensure Anuj’s body is released to them as soon as possible”.

The UK police has informed Bidve’s parents in India that a second autopsy will be conducted on his body by Tuesday. If the earlier report match with the new one, the Indian commission in UK is likely to get Bidve’s body by tomorrow.

Anuj Bidve had moved to Lancaster University from his hometown in Pune in 2010. Bidve was described by tutors as “an outstanding applicant at the very beginning of a promising career”.

The Greater Manchester Police said a reward of 50,000 pounds for information related to the case was on offer.

The police was liaising with the coroner about returning Bidve’s body to his family members, who are expected to reach Manchester later this week.

The Indian high commission is facilitating the process.

Meanwhile the man charged with Bidve’s  murder has been remanded to police custody by a UK court. Appearing before the City of Manchester Magistrates Court yesterday, 20-year-old Kiaran Stapleton described himself as “psycho”. Asked to confirm his name and address, Stapleton said his name was “Psycho. Psycho Stapleton”.

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