'Papa is now with God', Hiren Mohini's widow tells her children

Auckland, Feb 7(ANI): The wife of slain Indian-origin taxi driver Hiren Mohini has said that his death is still hard to believe for the family, including her two young daughters.

Speaking about the tragedy for the first time, Falguni Mohini said she had kept the gruesome details of the murder from her two daughters, five-year-old Yashvi and three-year-old Hetvi.

"We told them Papa has gone to stay with God, but that is still hard for them to understand. Both children are so young and innocent so we are taking it slowly, day by day. But we told them his soul is free," The New Zealand Herald quoted Falguni, as saying.

"It is hard to deal with this in our culture, it is not a natural death, but we can't explain to the kids how it happened. The youngest one is too young to fully understand. I still can't believe that this has happened. I still think Hiren will come home - I keep thinking it's not Hiren, it's someone else who died," she added.

Falguni said that they had an arranged marriage in Mumbai in 2001, and came to New Zealand two years later in search of a "better life, better prospects".

She also recalled how Hiren, who had given up his job as an accountant for Shell in India, initially struggled to find work in New Zealand, took work with Auckland Co-op Taxis where he would routinely do 13-hour shifts.

"He was a hard working, kind man who loved his family. He would work harder, longer hours to support his family," Falguni said.

"Hiren felt strongly about this country - he really loved it. Both our daughters were born here. New Zealand is our home now so we have to respect Hiren's sentiment so we want to stay," she added. (ANI)