Salford:
The family of Anuj Bidve, the 23-year-old Indian student who was shot dead in the British city of Salford, visited the site of the gruesome crime today and offered prayers at the crime spot in the Ordsall area. They will return to India with Anuj's body this evening. The cremation will be held in Pune tomorrow.
"We are shattered, " his father Subhash Bidwe said, describing the past few days as an "exceedingly difficult journey to make".
Anuj's father arrived in London on Wednesday along with wife Yogini and Anuj's brother-in-law Rakesh Sonawane. They viewed Anuj's body for the first time at a funeral parlor yesterday, more than a week after the 23-year-old was killed in an unprovoked attack.
Describing his son as a disciplined person and a brilliant student, Anuj's father made an impassioned plea that what happened to his son should not happen again. "It is really unfortunate that I have lost my son. It should not happen again... I want students to come here, complete their studies and go back," he said. He pointed out that UK's education system was supposed to be the "safest" in the world.
Expressing full confidence in the British justice system, he said that the only person the family blamed was the man who killed their son.
Anuj was walking down a down a street in Salford near Manchester with a group of Indian friends on December 26 when he was shot by a man who reportedly asked him about the time. He was rushed to hospital but did not survive. The police has described his murder as a hate crime.
The family, yesterday, met Indian-origin Labour MP Keith Vaz in Parliament, before proceeding to Lancaster University, where their Anuj was a postgraduate student of Microelectronics since 2010.
The university has decided to return his tuition fees.
"I am pleased to welcome the Bidve family to Parliament. They have shown great dignity following the terrible circumstances of their son's death. This must be a very difficult time for them. We must reassure foreign students we are doing everything we can to ensure their safety in the UK," said Mr Vaz.
Kiaran Stapleton, from Ordsall, has been charged with the murder of Anuj Bidve and has been remanded to custody until a plea and case management hearing on March 20.
Three others arrested on suspicion of Anuj's murder have been granted bail until March pending further inquiries.
(With PTI inputs)