Illegal Migrant from India stalked Sacramento Waitress for months - then Executed her outside a Panera

A 22-year-old Indian national who crossed the southern border illegally in 2023 chased down a Sacramento waitress in a shopping-center parking lot, shot her multiple times, then finished her off with a close-range shot to the head - before killing himself on Highway 50 minutes later.

Shalini Thakur, 38, was dropped off near her car outside the Panera Bread at Howe and Northrup avenues in Arden Arcade just before 3 p.m. Tuesday when Rohit Rohit confronted her. She ran. He chased her, pulled a gun, and opened fire in front of witnesses. After she fell, he stood over her and fired again into her head, Sacramento County sheriff's officials said.

Rohit then fled onto eastbound Highway 50. Deputies, tipped by witnesses and Flock license-plate cameras, caught up with him within minutes near Watt Avenue. He stopped, then died of a self-inflicted gunshot inside the car. Traffic on the highway was shut down for hours.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday that Rohit, an Indian citizen, was arrested by Border Patrol after illegally crossing into Arizona in August 2023 - and then released into the United States. A DHS spokesperson said the killing "would have been completely avoided if it weren't for the Biden Administration RELEASING this killer into our country."

Local records show Rohit had no prior criminal history in Sacramento County. Investigators are still trying to determine how he got the gun and a copy of Thakur's apartment key.

Friends set up a Go Fund Me to help the family of Shalini Thakur at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shalini-thakurs-family

The two had known each other for about two years through work. Thakur was a waitress; Rohit was a DoorDash driver who picked up orders at her workplace. What started as acquaintance turned into a year-long campaign of stalking that she documented in court.

In January she found an Apple AirTag hidden under the hood of her car. He deflated her tires and then followed her to work so he could offer "help." He left random grocery deliveries at her door. On at least one occasion he used a copy of her apartment key to enter while she slept, later claiming he was "concerned."

Thakur first reported him in March. Deputies urged her to seek a restraining order. She filed in May, writing that the harassment had "progressively escalated in frequency and severity" since about September 2025. She said he parked outside her home for hours, tried to coerce her into marriage, isolated her from other people, and threatened to shoot himself - or anyone she met. He was personally served on May 19. In July he violated the order by dropping items at her door again.

It was not enough.

Thakur's mother, Sudesh Kumari, spoke to her daughter at 1:58 p.m. Tuesday - less than an hour before the shooting. Thakur said she would call back in 15 minutes. She never did. Kumari, whose husband died two years earlier and who described Thakur as her only child, later told reporters: "I am alone in this world." She said her daughter had warned police repeatedly. "She could have been saved."

Sheriff Jim Cooper called Rohit a "cold-blooded killer." DHS used the case to attack both the prior administration's release practices and California sanctuary rules that limit local cooperation with ICE. Local officials have not said whether they ever flagged Rohit to federal immigration authorities after the stalking reports.

Friends set up a Go Fund Me to help the family of Shalini Thakur at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shalini-thakurs-family