[ UNITED KINGDOM ]

Concert in London in memory of Anuj Bidve

Anuj Bidve

Stars from the entertainment industry in Maharashtra Sept 16 came together for an eight-hour extravaganza here to raise funds for the family of Indian student Anuj Bidve, who was shot dead in Manchester last year.

The murdered student's parents attended the concert at the O2, earlier known as the Millennium Dome. Tickets for the concert were sold out, organizers said, and added that the Bidve family will be presented with a check of Rs 10 lakh by senior Labour MP Keith Vaz to repay the loan they had taken to send Anuj to Lancaster University to pursue a postgraduate qualification in microelectronics. Prominent artistes who performed at the event include Sonali Kulkarni, Suresh Wadkar, Bela Shende, Hariharan, Avdhut Gupte, Ajay-Atul and Swapnil Bandodkar.

Key organizers who put together the concert include the London-based consultant gynaecologist Mahesh Patwardhan and noted director-producer Mahesh Manjrekar. The London-based Maharashtra Mandal played a key role in the event. Recorded video clips of Prime Minister David Cameron and others were shown at the event.

Led by Patwardhan, a foundation in memory of Anuj Bidve has been set up to help students from Maharashtra coming to the UK to study, organizers said. In July, Kiaran 'Psycho' Stapleton, who killed Bidve on December 26 last year, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Manchester crown court after a trial that was attended by the victim's parents.

NRI entrepreneur honored in UK

Atul Pathak

A leading NRI entrepreneur and two other people have been honored here for their outstanding contribution to Heart and Stroke Research and their support to the Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research. Atul Pathak, Managing Director of Appt Corporation Limited, Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research founder Colin Green and Dominic Grieve, MP, Attorney General, received a trophy each for their "invaluable support over the years."

The trophy was handed over to them by Dr Rami Ranger, Chairman of the Golden Heart Club here last night.

"I am really humbled to accept the award," Pathak said after receiving the award. The Northwick Park Institute, Ranger said, was set up in 1994 and is one of the UK's leading charity-based independent Medical Research Institutes, working to translate ground-breaking medical research into patient care. It is affiliated with University College London which is consistently rated as one of the top five medical schools in the world.

150 Indian students in Britain may be sent home soon

An estimated 150 Indian students out of a total of 600 impacted in some form could be in danger of immediate deportation from Britain after the immigration authority, the United Kingdom Border Agency, revoked London Metropolitan University's licence to admit or teach anyone from outside the European Union.

Legal experts believe LMU, the first British university to be stripped of its right to sponsor foreign student visas, is bound to challenge UKBA's order in court. Its chancellor Malcolm Gillies confirmed the university has sought legal advice on the matter. However, pupils who did not possess valid student visas will be served with orders to leave Britain immediately. A UKBA enforcement team thinks up to 500 of the nearly 3,000 overseas students affected by the action against LMU fall into the category of having no right to be enrolled at this university. A UKBA source told media, "They either have lapsed student visas, the wrong type of visas that don't allow them to study here or are studying without any visas." The source warned, "Some will be raided, detained and removed, others will be firmly asked to leave or risk being thrown out." It is also unclear whether LMU will refund fees to the de-recognized students. It is said to be consulting lawyers on how much it is obliged to pay. Students who don't fall foul of the visa regime have been granted 60 days to find places at other British universities. Gillies said LMU would lose nearly £30 million in tuition fees without non-EU students. The diplomatic mission has posted an advisory on its website — www. hcilondon .in — asking concerned students to get in touch for assistance.

[ By satish visavadia ]