Investigators said Rohit (L) had been stalking and harassing Thakur (R) for months.
Washington: A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman was shot dead outside a restaurant in the US state of California by a 22-year-old man from India who had allegedly stalked her for months, the US Department of Homeland Security said. The incident took place on Sept 8 at a shopping centre in Sacramento. A DHS spokesperson said Rohit was from India and had entered the US through Arizona in 2023.
Rohit, an undocumented immigrant from India, approached Shalini Thakur at her car. After she fell to the ground, he shot her again in the head at close range before fleeing in his vehicle. Authorities tried to call the driver out of the car before discovering that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office was quoted as saying by Fox40.com.
When she tried to run away, Rohit chased her down, pulled out a gun, and shot her multiple times, DHS said on Friday.
Stalker had deflated victim’s car tyres so he could pretend to offer help to her
Accused Rohit was arrested by the US Border Patrol and released by the Biden administration, according to the spokesperson.
He had also obtained a copy of her apartment key and entered her home as she slept, SCSO said. The exact details around his immigration status were not immediately clear as of Friday. Further investigation determined that Rohit had been harassing and stalking Thakur since at least January, after she discovered an Apple AirTag under the hood of her car. Rohit had also reportedly deflated her car’s tyres and followed her to work so he could offer her help, the report added. Even after she had got a restraining order against Rohit in May, he had continued to stalk her as recently as July. Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.