Man charged with gun murder of Indian student in city street

Mr Bidve, 23, was shot at close range in an apparently motiveless attack in the Ordsall district of Salford, Greater Manchester.

Last night Greater Manchester Police said Kiaran Mark Stapleton, from Ordsall, had been charged with the murder.

The announcement came as two officers from Greater Manchester Police flew out to India to meet Mr Bidve’s family.

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, India, before police in the UK could contact him.

A total of five people have been arrested so far. Yesterday a 19-year-old man was bailed until the end of March. Three others, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-old youths, were also released on bail pending further inquiries.

Senior officers described the murder as “horrific” and a £50,000 reward was put up by police.

The victim was in a group of nine male and female Indian students visiting Manchester for a short break over Christmas.

He was murdered around 1.30am on Boxing Day as they walked from their hotel through Ordsall, heading for Manchester city centre.

The gunman, a white man wearing a grey top, walked across the road and engaged the victim in a short conversation before shooting him at close range in the side of the head. Mr Bidve died in hospital a short time later.

The killer ran back across the street before the pair fled towards the Ordsall housing estate.

Police are treating the murder as a “hate crime” which may have been racially motivated.

According to a Facebook page set up in Mr Bidve’s memory, he “was killed for not answering a simple question – ‘What’s the time?’” However police have not yet disclosed what was said.

Mr Bidve was studying for a micro-electronics postgraduate qualification at Lancaster University and was described as “an outstanding applicant at the very beginning of a promising career”.

Described as “clever and sporty”, he arrived in the UK in September after completing an electronics degree at Pune University

Nazir Afzal, the Crown Prosecution Service’s chief prosecutor in the region, announced said: “Mr Stapleton will appear before the City of Manchester Magistrates’ Court in the morning.

“Now that he’s been charged I must remind everyone that he is entitled to fair trial and any reporting must not prejudice this trail.

“Finally prosecutors and police officers remain determined to deliver justice for Mr Bidve’s family and friends. They have our deepest condolences.”

Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley said it was a complex inquiry and the charge did not mean it was complete.

As a result the public was still being asked to come forward with any information and the £50,000 reward remained.

“Anuj’s family, who are still in India, have been made aware that we have charged someone in relation to Anuj’s murder and officers from GMP are currently en route to support the family in person.

“We know that the family are extremely distressed that Anuj’s body has not been released to them.

“We have been in close contact with the coroner who is anxious to release Anuj’s body to his family at the earliest possible time.”