Father filmed baby happily playing less than three hours before shaking and killing him

Arav Kushawaha was three months old when he died.

This story describes injuries to a baby and may be distressing for some readers.

A father made a video of his three-month old son happily playing under a baby gym less than three hours before shaking him and causing fatal brain injuries.

Ram Kishore, 28, has pleaded guilty in the High Court to the manslaughter of his baby son Aarav Kushwaha in Napier in March 2021.

A Crown summary of facts said that Kishore and his partner lived at the Marineland Motel in Napier, where the baby’s mother was the manager. Kishore was a taxi driver and had returned home about 12.30am on March 20 after completing a shift.

Aarav woke about 8.30am and was in his father’s care while his mother worked around the motel.

At 11.04am, Kishore made a video of Aarav playing.

Kishore had sole care of the boy between 11.58am and 1.22pm, when he ran from the manager’s unit of the motel with Aarav unresponsive in his arms.

The Crown summary said that in those 24 minutes, Kishore forcefully shook Aarav, causing a brain injury so severe the baby stopped breathing.

Aarav was resuscitated and taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in Hastings before being transferred to Starship in Auckland.

“Unfortunately, despite maximum medical treatment to reduce the swelling and pressure in Aarav’s brain, he was unable to survive the injuries,” the Crown summary said.

He died at 9.55am on March 23.

Kishore will be sentenced on September 12.