2 Jan 2012

Man accused of Indian student murder remanded

A man accused of shooting dead Indian student Anuj Bidve on Boxing Day gives his name as “Psycho Stapleton” when he appears in court charged with murder.

A man accused of shooting dead Indian student Anuj Bidve on Boxing Day gives his name as

Kiaran Stapleton, 20, from Ordsall, Salford, was remanded in custody for 24 hours at City of Manchester magistrates’ court.

Mr Bidve, 23, described as a “promising and clever” student, was shot once in the head after being approached by a lone gunman at around 1.30am on 26 December. He died a short time later in hospital.

He was with a group of nine Indian students visiting Manchester for Christmas when he was murdered. The apparently motiveless killing generated national and international shock, especially in the victim’s home country.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police are due in India to support Mr Bidve’s family.

Criticism

His father, Subhash Bidve, has been critical of the way the British and Indian authorities have handled the case. He found out about his son’s death on Facebook at home in Pune before police in the UK could contact him.

The students had been walking from their hotel through the inner-city Ordsall district, heading for Manchester city centre. Police are treating the murder as a “hate crime” which may have been racially motivated.

Mr Bidve was studying for a micro-electronics postgraduate qualification at Lancaster University.

Tributes

A peace march in his honour will be held in the Indian capital on Monday. It will start near Nehru Park in Delhi and finish at the British Embassy. In Britain, hundreds of people plan to attend a candlelit memorial service for Mr Bidve in Ordsall Lane at 6pm tonight.