Why Stalking is So Deadly for South Asian Women
Shalini Thakur did what victims are told to do: report her stalker and get a restraining order. It still wasn’t enough.
Content warning: mentions of violence below
It was an ordinary day for Shalini Thakur, 38, who worked at an IHOP in Sacramento, California. She was on the phone with her mom around 2 p.m. As she stepped into a parking lot, she said she’d call back in 15 minutes. Her mom waited and waited, calling multiple times in vain. “Please call me,” her mother, Sudesh Kumari, messaged. “I am worried about you.”
Kumari had every reason to be concerned. Rohit Rohit, 22, had been waiting for her daughter in the parking lot. He was an acquaintance who had stalked her for a year, including by tracking her with an Apple AirTag. Thakur had successfully gotten a restraining order against him. Yet, Rohit chased her down as she tried to run, fatally shot her multiple times, including at close range, and then fled.
Shalini Thakur isn’t the first South Asian woman to lose her life to a stalker. Sania Khan, a Pakistani American photographer, had warned her building manager about her ex-husband and stalker, Raheel Ahmad, who traveled 800 miles, entered her apartment, and fatally shot her. Today, women are more vocal and involve authorities to help protect themselves. Still, it’s not enough. The Juggernaut spoke to activists, researchers, and organizations that support survivors to find out why — and what the community can do next.