The family of Janak Patel say they are relieved after two more men were charged with murder on March 8, 2023, in connection with the death of the dairy worker Janak Patel more than three months ago.
Soon after the verdict, Patel’s younger sister Neelam Patel told Indian Weekender, “We are relieved as a family. We have full faith in New Zealand’s judicial system. We just want to see the culprits behind bars. My brother deserves justice.”
Indian national Patel was killed outside the Rose Cottage Dairy in Sandringham last November, sparking widespread protests.
The killing sparked emotions across the country. Dairy workers took to the streets, begging the government for more security.
Shane Henry Tane and Henry Fred were initially charged with robbery, while Frederick Hobson, who can now be named, was charged with aggravated robbery and murder.
At the High Court in Auckland on Wednesday morning, Justice Sally Fitzgerald confirmed name suppression had lapsed for Hobson.
All three have now been charged with murder.
Tane is expected to enter a plea next week. The other two defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Migrant Workers Association president Anu Kaloti said the community would be relieved at the charges.
The real comfort for family and community members would come when there was a verdict, Kaloti said.
"They will be tried and held to account, so I guess people can breathe a sigh of relief - but I suppose what kind of justice... remains to be seen."
