Woman, 38, gunned down in broad daylight as she tried to run from alleged stalker

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KMAX/KOVR) - Nearly a week after a California woman was gunned down in broad daylight by her alleged stalker, her loved ones are calling for change, so her death won’t be in vain.

Family and friends gathered Monday for the funeral of 38-year-old Shalini Thakur, who was shot and killed last Tuesday as she tried to run from her alleged stalker outside a Panera Bread in Sacramento. Her mother, Sudesh Kumari, grieved as she watched her only child pass by in a wooden casket.

“Today, Mom is saying, ‘Please let me go with her. I can’t be living all my life alone,’” family friend Tara Singh said.

Thakur’s loved ones want her to be remembered for her bright spirit.

“She was a lady with a vibrant personality. Larger than life,” friend Satinder Dulai said. “She had a bubbly personality. She had a lot of goals, and I think, one by one, she was completing them. She was a little feisty but very loving.”

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect in Thakur’s murder as 22-year-old Rohit Rohit, who was later found dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

At the time of her death, Thakur had an active restraining order against Rohit, whom she had reported for stalking and harassing her for a year. The suspect was in the country illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Even as they mourn, Thakur’s loved ones are calling for change, so her death is not in vain. Singh criticized law enforcement, saying they could have done more to protect Thakur.

“Some coward man. I shouldn’t call him a man. I think he’s a beast. He’s an animal, who shot her for no reason. No reason,” Singh said. “He was an illegal person in this country, and she has a restraining order. I don’t know how the police department didn’t take any action.”

Deputies confirm they had probable cause to arrest Rohit after he violated Thakur’s restraining order in late July. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office says they went looking for the suspect on multiple occasions but couldn’t find or arrest him.

Melinda Willey formed a friendship with Thakur as a regular customer at the IHOP where the 38-year-old worked as a server. She says she hopes this tragic event exposes a need for change.

“There’s going to be voices being raised at the different government levels. Possibly, there could be a bill passed with her name on it that could expedite situations like she was in, so nobody else has to go through what she went through or her family,” Willey said.

A prayer service will be held in India to honor Thakur and give her final rites, as is custom in the Sikh tradition.