THE PARENTS of Anuj Bidve, the Indian student shot dead in Manchester, visited the site today (January 6) where he was gunned down, saying it had been an “exceedingly difficult journey”.
Anuj Bidve’s father Subhash and mother Yogini laid flowers at the scene in Salford, a suburb of Manchester, and prayed for their 23-year-old son.
The couple, from Pune, said they had been “deeply moved” by the support people there had shown them.
“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,” Subhash Bidve said in a statement read out to reporters.
“As you can imagine this has been an exceedingly difficult journey to make. Anuj was our only son and we cannot comprehend this dreadful tragedy.”
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.”
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.
The Bidves visited the Houses of Parliament in London on Thursday (January 5), where they were met by MP Keith Vaz, who promised they would receive justice.
Since arriving in Britain on Wednesday (January 4), the couple have seen the body of their son and picked up his belongings from university.
