Name suppression has lapsed for Mukesh Prashad, the 37-year-old man accused of smothering his 5-year-old daughter, Tulsi Amola. Prashad is alleged to have smothered the young girl with a pillow before bringing her body to the Manukau Police Station in January, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Prashad, a resident of Conifer Grove, was arrested shortly after arriving at the station. Police said he arrived around 1am on Monday, January 6, and spoke with officers. The 5-year-old girl's body was found in a parked vehicle outside the station, a silver Nissan sedan that police cordoned off on Barrowcliffe Place.
Authorities allege the child died the day before, in East Tamāki.
During a High Court hearing last month, Prashad’s lawyer, Sharyn Green, applied for continued name suppression, arguing that her client could be at risk if identified publicly. She described the matter as a family tragedy and suggested it did not rise to a level that materially engaged the public’s right to know.
Justice Timothy Brewer declined the application.
In his written decision, he stated that open justice was the starting point for any name suppression request and emphasised that this principle was essential to a functioning democracy. He noted that publication is the norm, not the exception, and said that prisons have experience in protecting individuals charged with offences involving children.
Although suppression was dismissed on June 13, Justice Brewer allowed a temporary extension until today.
Prashad appeared briefly in the High Court at Auckland today before Justice Mathew Downs.
Justice Downs said that the matter of Prashad’s plea would ultimately be decided by a jury at trial, which is scheduled for May next year.
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