Father denies killing 3-month-old son

A man accused of killing his baby son denies shaking him and says his 3-monthold was lying in his cot asleep when he started making ‘‘mouth expressions’’, struggling to breathe.

Christchurch man Ram Kishore is charged with manslaughter following the death of Aarav Kushwaha in Napier on March 20, 2021.

Yesterday, The Press visited Kishore after he pleaded not guilty to the charge; he is expected to go on trial in July next year.

Kishore, who remains with his wife and now has a 2-month-old daughter, said he was struggling to cope. ‘‘I am just passing every single day like it is the end of my life . . . because my world is already finished.’’

The 27-year-old described his son, his family’s first grandchild, as ‘‘a lovely boy’’. ‘‘Just like every other baby,’’ he said. ‘‘I used to make videos with him every day and play with him.’’

Kishore, who worked part-time as a taxi driver, lived at a Napier motel with his wife, who also worked there.

The couple had a routine where Kishore would look after Aarav while his wife worked. ‘‘I used to send videos to my wife so . . . she can see what is happening.’’

On the day in question, Kishore said he was sitting on his bed playing on his phone as Aarav slept in his cot near his bed. Aarav would usually sleep for 30 minutes, then have a feed, and sleep for two hours.

Kishore said he was waiting for his son to wake to give him a feed when he noticed he started ‘‘making mouth expressions like he couldn’t breathe’’.

‘‘I started to panic, I hold him, and I was helpless.’’ He said he shouted out for his wife but no-one could hear him. ‘‘The bad thing was I did not know how to do CPR.’’

He took his son outside, hoping someone would be able to help but initially he could not see anyone.

‘‘There was nobody . . . I wanted help.’’ He started doing resuscitation when one of the housekeepers saw him. He said he asked her to call his wife, who came to the scene. Aarav was now ‘‘getting floppy’’.

The housekeeper then called the ambulance and the fire brigade arrived about 15 minutes later.

While waiting, the call taker told them how to do CPR. When the ambulance arrived and staff took over, Aarav began to cry. ‘‘We thought he was with us now, and then they took him to the hospital and after that we don’t know what happened.’’

The baby boy was flown from Hawke’s Bay to Starship children’s hospital in Auckland with life-threatening injuries but died three days later.

Kishore describes the time in hospital as ‘‘the worst days of our lives’’.

In December, the couple, then expecting another baby, moved from Napier to Christchurch, wanting a fresh start.

‘‘Every place reminded me of my boy,’’ Kishore said.

‘‘Napier is not a very big city . . . so we went everywhere with the boy and my wife was going almost every day to the cemetery.’’

Kishore was arrested and charged in Christchurch last week.

He said he felt ‘‘helpless’’ when he was told police were charging him with manslaughter and denies ever shaking his son.

He said he had no idea why his son started struggling to breathe.

He added he was not a violent person and wishes there was security footage in the room to prove his innocence.

Now, Kishore said he was ‘‘afraid to touch’’ his baby daughter and was never alone with her.

‘‘I either take my wife . . . or my mum or my dad. Somebody should be with us to watch what is going on.’’

Despite this, he said his daughter was helping him cope with the loss of his son.

‘‘She looks exactly like him.’’