Two-year-old Naish was sleeping on Priya Mehra’s lap when his mother was murdered. His face and arms were smeared with her blood after Priya was shot. When the unidentified assailant fired the first round, she wrapped her arms around our son and bent over his body to protect him, said her husband Pankaj Mehra.
“If what I suspect is true, I was their target. The bullet hit her and could have also harmed our son but she died protecting him,” he said. The couple really wanted a child and Naish was born eight years after their marriage, said Deepanshu, Mr. Mehra’s nephew.
Recent birthday
Only last week they had celebrated Naish’s birthday, the family members recounted. “He turned two on October 17 and we had all gathered at their house in Rohini to celebrate his birthday. Priya mami had organised everything herself,” he said.
Since the incident, Naish was with his grandparents and other family members. However, he has been looking for his mother since the morning, said Mr. Deepanshu.
