After the brutal death of Indian-origin woman Shalini Thakur in California's Sacramento on September 8, her mother on Friday (local time) recounted the heartbreaking final conversation she had with her daughter, just an hour before the 38-year-old was shot.
According to her mother, Sudesh Kumari, Shalini's death had left her "alone in this world", as her husband had died earlier, and Shalini was her only child.
She told local news outlet KCRA 3 that she had spoken to her daughter at 1:58 PM—just an hour before Shalini was killed—at which time the victim told her that she would call back in 15 minutes.
Minutes turned into hours, but that call never came, which got Sudesh more worried about her daughter.
“I call her every time, every minute, every hour. I don’t know," she said tearfully, accepting that her daughter "would never come".
Kumari even showed KCRA 3 her phone, including a series of unanswered calls and WhatsApp messages she sent as she got more worried over the delay. The messages included “please call me” and “I am worried about you".
How exactly did Shalini Thakur die?
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said the accused—a 22-year-old identified as Rohit Rohit—had been waiting for Shalini outside a Panera Bread outlet at the intersection of Howe Ave and Northrop Ave.
He then reportedly confronted her and chased her when she attempted to run, before shooting her multiple times.
Based on witness information about Rohit’s vehicle, the police traced him down within minutes to the eastbound Highway 50 near Watt Avenue. However, he was found dead inside the vehicle due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“She could have been saved. She told police so many times. She called them, but nobody did anything,” Sudesh said, lamenting at how the system had failed her daughter, as per an ABC10 report.
It cited court records showing that Rohit, a DoorDash driver, had begun stalking Shalini as far back as September 2025, and it was only in May this year that she was granted a restraining order against him.
In her own words, she had told the court that she knew Rohit, who used to talk to her on a daily basis. However, these interactions devolved into something worse, that even the restraining order failed to stop.
Shalini explained that over the course of a year, Rohit had tampered with her vehicle, removed air from her tires, installed a tracking device, would send her unsolicited gifts regularly, tried to coerce her into marriage, and prevented her from socialising with others.
She said Rohit even threatened to shoot himself or anyone she met.
