Subhash Bidve, father of Anuj Bidve, the Indian university student shot dead in a suspected racist attack, expressed concern on Thursday over the safety of other Indian students in Britain and made an emotional appeal on their behalf saying that what happened to his son should “not happen again.”
“It is really unfortunate that I lost my son. But I feel as a father that this should not happen again because a lot of Indian students come here for their education. So, I humbly request you all to have justice for Anuj and to kindly make sure that students who come here for their studies go back to their country [safely]. Today, I can't say anything more than this,” he said speaking outside Parliament after meeting Labour MP Keith Vaz. He was accompanied by his wife Yogini and brother-in-law Rakesh Sonawane.
Mr. Vaz said all foreign students must be assured that they were safe in Britain.
“We must reassure foreign students we are doing everything we can to ensure their safety in the U.K.,” he said.
He said the Bidves had shown “great dignity following the terrible circumstances of their son's death.”
“This must be a very difficult time for them.”
Mr. Bidve often struggled to suppress his tears as he spoke.
Thanking the Manchester police for their help, he said his son's killer should be brought to justice quickly.
“They [the police] helped us a lot. They brought us here and fully explained to us how it had happened, how Anuj got shot,” he said.
A postgraduate student at Lancaster University, Anuj (23) was shot dead by a white gunman in Salford, Manchester, on Boxing Day as he walked along a normally busy street with his friends. One man has been charged with his murder.
Mr. Bidve said he sent Anuj to Britain because he wanted to “give him the best.”
“As a father that's what I wanted,” he added.
Describing Anuj as a “very good son,” he said: “He studied engineering in India in an inner city. He was a very brilliant student and he was working on some core engineering like in micro-electronic chips engineering. He was working on his really special projects and he was very happy staying here and doing his work. He was really straightforward, very disciplined, very softly spoken and very friendly to everyone and a very good son to me.”
The family travelled to Lancaster University and was expected to visit Manchester to say prayers at the spot where Anuj was killed. They would return to India on Friday with Anuj's body.
The Indian High Commission was helping with the repatriation of the body.
