Knife used to attack Indian driver may have been found: police

Natasha Chaku
Melbourne, Feb 1 (PTI) The police have retrieved a
knife that may have been used to kill an Indian-origin taxi
driver in New Zealand's Auckland city, as a key witness
described the incident as "horrific".
Hiren Mohini, 39, was found dead with multiple stab
wounds in his crashed car early on Sunday and the police said
they believed he was attacked by a passenger.
Detective Senior Sergeant Hywel Jones said that the
knife had been sent for forensic examination and 30
investigators are hunting for the killer, according to the
New Zealand Herald newspaper Monday.
Police are also looking at CCTV footage where the
passenger, who is believed in to be in his 20s last seen
running toward Esplanade Rd after the crash, was picked up in
the city and carrying out door to door inquiries in Mt Eden
where the car rammed up against the fence.
"It was a frenzied attack... There are a large number
of witnesses to interview not only from the street where the
murder happened but also other locations such as the CBD where
a male suspect is believed to have hired the cab driven by the
deceased," Jones said.
Even as the police is actively searching for the
attacker, the witness who first rushed for help, said the
victim's injuries were horrific.
The Herald quoted Adam Couper as saying that Mohini
was slumped over the steering wheel, bleeding from knife
wounds to his neck and chest, with his foot on the
accelerator.
Couper was one of the first on the scene after he
heard a loud thud and rushed across the road, where he saw the
car rammed up against the fence.
"By the time we got there the car was already stopped
but the driver was sort of slumped over and had his foot on
the gas - he was doing a burn-out," Couper said.
He said one of my flatmates was in there trying to
help, "moved his head back so he could breathe but there
wasn't much we could do."
Describing Mohini's injuries were horrific, Couper
said "He had a knife wound to his neck as well as a pretty
good stab to his chest. He was bleeding pretty profusely and
there was blood all over the door."
Other neighbours tried desperately to staunch Mohini's
wounds with teatowels while they waited the five or six
minutes for the ambulance to arrive, a period that felt like
an "eternity," Couper said.
Couper and his two flatmates ran out of the door as
soon as he heard the crash but didn't see anyone running from
the scene.
Police have also given out detailed description of
the attacker in their report.
Detective Jones said security surveillance footage was
being assessed from a number of locations in what is a
"complex murder investigation". Police is looking for a man in
his 20s, who was seen fleeing the scene. PTI NC
RBT