ISSUE
Friday, November 8, 2024
Volume 16 . Issue 34
The 26-year-old Indian student killed in North Shore last Thursday, June 4 was said to be a promising, bright and friendly person whose life was tragically cut short too soon.
His passing away has shocked his family back in India and friends here in New Zealand.
The Police has not yet released the identity of the Indian national who was brutally murdered by a 37-year-old man, who also injured another person during the incident.
Police were called at a property on Akoranga Road in Northcote at around 5:30 p.m. after a disturbance was reported. A witness living across the street saw a man calling for help from the second floor of the property.
The deceased is said to have come to New Zealand to pursue a masters degree in Physiotherapy from AUT.
The deceased's family in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, a northern state in India are devastated with the news of his untimely and brutal death, the cause of which is investigated by NZ Police.
The deceased when in India, completed his Bachelor's degree in Physiotherapy with distinction and also received a gold medal from the then president of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
His grandfather is a renowned writer and father, a senior officer in a bank in Uttarakhand, India.
A friend of the deceased on the condition of anonymity told the Indian Weekender that he had known the deceased for a year and half and was one of the nicest person he had ever met. He was close to the victim, and said 'people like him are rare to find, so compassionate, soft spoken and warm hearted'.
This Air India flight is the second repatriation flight under Indian government's Vande Bharat Mission to take back stranded Indian nationals and tourists from New Zealand. The maiden Air India's flight for Indian nationals flew on Sunday, June 7 from Auckland airport to New Delhi.
Police have put murder charges on a 37-year-old man for the assault and death of a 26-year-old man killed in North Shore last week. Police had earlier launched a homicide investigation the same.
The 37-year-old man appeared at the Auckland High Court on Saturday, June 6 and will next appear in the court on Wednesday, June 17.
A witness living across the street, Te Aroha Devon told The Indian Weekender that she heard a man from the second floor yelling for help, before police arrived to de-escalate the situation.
“As this matter is now before the Court, Police are unable to comment further," Detective Inspector Aaron Proctor from Waitemata CIB said.
The cause of death of the Indian student is being investigated by Police and the perpetrator under police custody, but some details of his last hours were revealed by his partner to NZ Herald.
NZ Herald reported that the deceased went shopping to a nearby supermarket with his partner just hours before the incident on Thursday, June 4.
She said the couple had been together for a year, and after the shopping at the supermarket, he was hurrying for a meeting at 4 p.m.
The last message she received from him was at 4:30 p.m. in which he said he was going to do his laundry.
His partner asked him to get in touch once finished, but he did not reply later to which she assumed he must be either busy with chores or playing games.
After a few hours, she texted one of their common friends if he was with him but received no reply.
It was just before she was about to sleep; she read an article that mentioned an incident in a property which she recognised by the street name and photo of his car in the article.
His partner went to the property with her flatmate but was not provided with any information.
When she returned home, she received a call from her friend who confirmed that it her partner and he did not survive.
"And he said 'I tried to save him but I couldn't'."
The deceased's partner said he was a gentle and kind person and did not deserve to go this way.
The name of the deceased is under suppression by court and that of the other victim who suffered minor injuries is also not revealed due to privacy concerns.