Anuj Bidve's parents made a solemn pilgrimage from their home in Pune, rural India, to Salford on a bitingly cold January morning this year. Subhash and Yogini Bidve visited the place where their son fell to the ground after being fatally shot in the head in the early hours of Boxing Day.

Tealight candles flickered and bouquets were piled on the pavement as they placed water and burned incense in a ceremony watched by the world's media. They returned to the UK once more for Kiaran Stapleton's trial, which began at the end of June.

Although the police had initially believed it was a racially motivated crime, the Greater Manchester force decided that Bidve was not the victim of race hate. Resorting to cliche, they said he was simply was "in the wrong place at the wrong time". There was international outrage following his death, and a £50,000 reward was offered for information leading to a conviction.

Bidve, a 23-year-old postgraduate microelectronics student at Lancaster University, was with a large group of friends who had spent Christmas together.

They were relaxed, laughing and joking in the early hours of Boxing Day as they made their way on foot from their hotel in Salford to Manchester city centre, intending to join the queues for the Next sale, which began at 5am. They used a mobile phone's GPS map to find their way, not realising they were about to bump into a man who later called himself "Psycho" Stapleton at a court hearing.

As the Indian and Pakistani students walked along Ordsall Lane close to the junction with Regent Road, they were approached by Stapleton, who was with a friend, Ryan Holden, who had no idea Stapleton had a gun. Stapleton asked them the time. One politely told him it was 1.30am.

The killer, who had his hands stuffed in his pockets, produced a 9mm Glock handgun, put it to Bidve's temple and fired a single shot, for no obvious reason. He then ran back across the road to Holden and they ran off, as Bidve's friends tried to help him.

Bidve's friend Nitish Jalali, 22, said he felt anxious when a man wearing a white hooded top walked towards them. "He came over and asked what the time is and we did not respond the first time," he said. On the third occasion, someone told him it was 1.30am and he pulled out a gun and fired it. "There was a bang sound, it sounded like a firecracker. Then Anuj fell flat, face-first," said Jalali. The man ran off, he said, giving a sarcastic laugh as he went.

As Bidve lay dying from his injuries on the pavement, his friends were able to flag down a passing car and call emergency services. However, he had suffered horrendous head injuries and was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Such was the disgust about the killing within the community in Salford, a candlelit vigil was held by members attended by many scores of residents.

Bidve's parents travelled from India to visit the murder scene accompanied by senior officers and the council's chief executive. A book of condolence was opened at Lancaster University, and a memorial service was held.

During their visit, the couple insisted they did not blame the people of Salford for the crime, only the person responsible for their son's death. The couple met Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, who continued to offer support.

A peace rally was also organised in New Delhi, India, and hundreds of people took part in a march through the city to the British high commission.

The police faced criticism as it emerged that Bidve's family in Pune had only heard about his death via Facebook posts.

Greater Manchester police say they asked his family to urgently contact them using the social networking site. A family liaison officer then spoke to the family by telephone.

Detective Superintendent Mary Doyle, who led the inquiry, defended their actions and said it was unfortunate that social media "runs faster than all of us these days".

Near the crime scene at a Shell petrol station on Regent Road, the killer was captured by a CCTV camera, proving he was in the area.

"There's no evidence … of any motive at all," Doyle said.

Police say they recorded it as a hate crime at the time as that was the perception within the community.

Within days of the murder, police were led to a house 13 miles away in Leigh, where Stapleton was hiding. He gave a "no comment" interview and was charged with murder.

Stapleton was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. Police ruled out gang crime, race hate and theft as possible motives.

The murder weapon has not been recovered by police but specialist ballistics experts showed the weapon had not been used in any other crime.

Doyle said: "It doesn't come much worse than this. Murder is murder and is terrible whichever way it comes. This was completely unprovoked, motiveless and impossible to explain." She had "never encountered anything as strange or impulsive as this before".

Her colleague, Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan, said it was shocking and awful and an incident that had caused considerable distress in the area. Officers knocked on every door in Ordsall to reassure residents. Crime has been reduced as a consequence.

Ordsall is 93% white and has seen a rise in population in the past decade. Mulligan said the spirit of the community had shown itself at the vigil for Bidve.

"The community was saying this has nothing to do with us," he added. It was a sentiment that was echoed by every person whom I spoke to near the scene. They were united in their horror about what had happened there."