Anuj Bidve's family applies for emergency visa to UK

The bereaved family of slain student Anuj Bidve, who was shot dead in Manchester this week, have been told by the consulate general of India in Birmingham, to apply for emergency visa to expedite the process of repatriation of his body.

"We have sought emergency visa and have been told that we are also required to be present in the United Kingdom to complete the procedures for handing over Anuj's body," his brother-in-law Rakesh Sonawane told reporters in Pune.

"Anuj's father Subhash Bidve and I would go to Manchester once we get the visa," Anuj's cousin Suruchi Wagh added.

The family has also released an open letter to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, urging him to help the family get Anuj's body back to Pune, expressing concern over the delay because of Christmas and New Year holidays in the UK.

Three days after the Pune-based engineering student was killed, messages expressing grief continued to pour in on his Help Page on Facebook.

The 23-year-old was shot in the head at close range in an "unprovoked" attack in Manchester on December 26 on Boxing Day. He was a student of Microelectronics at Lancaster University. The UK cops are treating his killing as "hate crime".