SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Friends and family gathered Monday to remember 38-year-old Shalini Thakur, who was fatally shot in Sacramento last week after authorities say she had endured months of stalking and harassment.
Thakur’s funeral was held Sept. 14 at North Sacramento Funeral Home, nearly a week after she was killed outside a shopping center in the Arden-Arcade area. Her death has left her mother, friends, coworkers and members of the local Sikh community struggling to understand how the violence happened despite a civil harassment restraining order.
“She was a lady with a vibrant personality. Larger than life, with this glow about her,” friend Satinder Dulai said while remembering Thakur. “She was a little feisty, but very loving.”
Friends remember Thakur for her personality and kindness
Thakur worked at an IHOP in the Arden-Arcade area, where she developed friendships with coworkers and regular customers. Some of those customers joined her friends and family at the funeral to pay their respects.
Melinda Willey, a regular customer who became friends with Thakur, said she wanted people to remember the kindness she showed others.
Thakur’s mother, Sudesh Kumari, had traveled from India to Sacramento to spend several months with her only child. Instead of returning home with memories of a visit, she is now making arrangements to return to India after her daughter’s death.
Kumari and an uncle were among the family members present at the funeral. Much of Thakur’s extended family remains in India.
Tara Singh of the Guru Nanak Sat Sangat of California described the funeral as an especially painful moment for Thakur’s mother.
Thakur had sought protection before the shooting
Authorities say the shooting followed months of alleged stalking by Rohit Rohit, 22.
Court records obtained by local news organizations indicate that Thakur reported escalating behavior beginning in 2025. The allegations included Rohit waiting outside her home, tampering with her vehicle and placing an Apple AirTag under her car to track her movements. Investigators also said he obtained a copy of her apartment key and entered her home while she was sleeping.
Thakur eventually sought a civil harassment restraining order in May. The order remained in effect through May 2027.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Thakur reported a possible violation of the order in late July after Rohit allegedly left groceries outside her home. Deputies said they had probable cause to arrest him in connection with that alleged violation and attempted to locate him more than once, but were unable to find him.
The sheriff’s office has said the alleged violations were misdemeanors and that investigators made efforts to locate Rohit.
The circumstances surrounding the earlier reports have become a central part of the discussion following Thakur’s death, with friends questioning whether additional intervention could have prevented the shooting.
Fatal shooting followed a confrontation
On Sept. 8, deputies were called shortly before 3 p.m. to a shopping center near Howe Avenue and Northrop Avenue after reports of a shooting.
Investigators said Rohit approached Thakur near her vehicle and confronted her. When she tried to get away, authorities said he chased her and shot her multiple times before firing another shot at close range. Thakur died at the scene.
Rohit then fled in a vehicle and was later stopped on eastbound Highway 50. Authorities said he died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound during the ensuing police standoff. Deputies have said they did not fire their weapons during the incident.
Because Rohit died, he will not face criminal prosecution for Thakur’s killing. Friends said that has made the loss even harder to process.
“I still can’t believe it’s real until today,” Dulai said. “Today, reality hit for a lot of us.”
Calls for stronger protection
The case has also raised questions among Thakur’s friends about how restraining orders and reports of stalking are handled when a victim continues to face threats.
Willey said she hopes Thakur’s death leads to broader changes that could give people in similar situations faster protection.
“There’s going to be voices being raised at the different government levels,” Willey said, adding that she hopes legislation could eventually help people facing circumstances similar to those Thakur experienced.
Singh also questioned why stronger action was not taken after the reported restraining-order violation.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office has said deputies did have probable cause to arrest Rohit after the reported violation but were unable to locate him despite multiple attempts.
The Department of Homeland Security has separately said Rohit was an Indian national who entered the United States through Arizona in 2023 and had previously been in federal immigration custody. That information has added an immigration-policy dimension to public discussion surrounding the killing, although the criminal investigation itself has centered on the alleged stalking, restraining-order violation and shooting.
For those who knew Thakur, however, the focus remains on the woman they lost.
Friends described her as hardworking, warm and ambitious, with plans for her future and a strong bond with her mother.
Now they are helping Kumari cope with the loss and make arrangements to return to India.
“We can’t have another incident like this,” Dulai said.
Thakur was 38 when she died. Her obituary lists her birth date as Sept. 19, 1987.
