Two officers from the Great Manchester Police, trained in counselling distressed family members of crime victims, have flown down to Pune from UK to meet the slain 23-year-old student Anuj Bidve’s kin.
The officers told the local media: “It is a normal practice of UK police to send liaison officers to deal with crisis-struck family of crime victim.”
Anuj Bidve, a student from Lancaster University, was shot dead by one Salford in Greater Manchester on December 26. While the police have termed it as “motiveless murder”, Indian community newspapers in UK have classified it as ‘one more instance of growing racist and hate crime’.
Seeking to dispel rumours about UK police callousness in handling the case and responding to reports that they were rushing to India for a ‘damage control’, Greater Manchester Police Chief Superintendent Ruff Jackson said: “In all incidents of murder, we use specially trained family liaison officers who work with the concerned family.
Their task is to provide psychological support through the upsetting process of receiving their loved ones back as well as guide them through court proceedings. It is not uncommon for us to send officers to other countries if victim’s family is outside UK,”
Chief superintendent Jackson accompanied by the police detective (Family Liaison) Peter Rickards had flown down on Monday and met Anuj's family.