'I thank God justice prevailed'

Abhinesh Sharma (centre) is embraced by supporters after he was cleared of the murder of 16-month-old Sachin Dhani. Photo / Dean Purcell

Abhinesh Sharma always believed he would be found not guilty of murdering the nephew he called his "lucky charm".

The 37-year-old Fijian-born plumber walked out of the High Court at Auckland yesterday a free man after a jury cleared him of murdering 16-month-old Sachin Dhani in June 2007.

Mr Sharma was babysitting Sachin when the toddler received serious head injuries that he later died from in Starship hospital.

The Crown alleged an "angry and frustrated" Mr Sharma injured Sachin by shaking him violently and then slamming him on to the floor.

But Mr Sharma said he was out of the room when the injuries occurred. He told police the other children he was babysitting said Sachin had fallen off the couch and hit his head on the floor.

The night before the verdict had been a "sleepless" one, but he told the Herald he was always confident of a positive result. "I thank almighty God that justice prevailed. From day one I said I'm innocent and that I didn't do anything."

He thanked his lawyers, Maria Pecotic and Geoff Wells, who did a "great job".

The jury deliberated for nearly six hours before returning with the not guilty verdict. Mr Sharma wiped sweat from his face as he waited for the foreman to read the verdict and Sachin's mother, Sashi Dhani, started to cry when it was delivered.

Mr Sharma said Sachin was like a son to him."He was my lucky charm. I really loved that boy."

He was Mr Sharma's nephew by marriage and his arrest for murder had strained relations between the two families.

Mr Sharma's wife is the sister of Sachin's mother and the two haven't spoken since the toddler died.

She and her husband, Suresh, left the High Court last night in tears and were too upset to talk about the verdict.

"It's been very tough for them, it's more or less torn the family apart, " Mr Sharma's uncle, Bobguru Prasad, said.

Mr Sharma's wife, who has name suppression, said she felt sorry for her sister's loss. "My sympathy is with her. She is my second eldest sister and I love her very much."

She said she hoped things would one day go back to how they were before Sachin's death, when the families were very close.

Ms Pecotic said she was thrilled with the result.

"This has been so hard for both families and it's split them apart, but my view is that justice has been done."

The defence called an expert witness from Australia, Dr Terrence Donald, who said Sachin's injuries could have come from falling off the sofa.