To the heap of flowers, candles and messages piled up at the spot where Anuj Bidve was killed his parents poignantly added one of their own from “mummy, papa and family” as they visited Salford on Friday and said prayers for their son before returning to India with his body.
The message scrawled on a card and embedded in a bouquet of flowers simply read: “To our beloved son Anuj. From mummy, papa, jiju Rakesh and family.”
Wiping her tears, Anuj's mother kneeled down and read the tributes left by the local people who said they felt ashamed that a young man was killed for no apparent reason than that he was of the “wrong” colour.
As Anuj's family, father Subhash Bidve, mother Yogini and brother-in-law Rakesh Sonawane, walked down Ordsall Lane, where he was shot dead by a white gunman in an unprovoked attack on Boxing Day, they said it had been “an exceedingly difficult journey to make.”
“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,” Mr. Bidve said.
But he insisted that the family felt no bitterness towards the people of Salford. If anything, they had been overwhelmed by the public outpouring of sympathy and support in their difficult moment.
“We do not blame the people of this city for what happened. The only person we blame is the person who was responsible for taking Anuj away from us in this 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,” he said, expressing confidence in the British justice system to bring the killer of his son to book.
Earlier, the family visited Lancaster University, where Anuj was studying, and met university officials and his friends and colleagues.
Vice-Chancellor Mark E. Smith said the university had provided financial assistance to the family and planned to hold a memorial ceremony for Anuj.
Mr. Bidve recalled that Anuj was “full of hope and ambition for the future” when he left India in September last year to come to Britain.
“Anuj was our only son and we cannot comprehend this dreadful tragedy,” he said as he appealed for the family to be left alone to grieve privately.
