'Just don't carry it' - aunt of Bedford stab victim backs police anti-knife crime campaign
Ashish Sachdev Nahar was murdered from a fatal stab to the heart
The family of Ashish Sachdev Nahar, who was murdered at a park in Bedford last June, are backing Bedfordshire Police's efforts to prevent knife crime.
This week marks the first of two 'Operation Sceptre' weeks of action, aimed at highlighting efforts from the force to tackle knife crime.
In last year's week of action, Bedfordshire Police launched their 'Just Drop It' campaign, brought back to light this week and supported by several grieving families taking a stand against violent crime.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Ashish's aunt, Sheetal Lodhia, said: "We want to raise awareness of the ripple effects knife crime has to illustrate that it doesn't just affect the victim, but also the extended family, direct family, friends, passers-by, anyone who's with the individual at the time."
"There is no point in carrying a knife, it doesn't make you any bigger so just drop the knives, just don't carry it."
Ashish was only 25 years old when his life was taken away by 16-year-old Kamil Serba, who is now serving a life sentence for murder.
The stabbing happened last June at Jubilee Park, off Canvin Way in Bedford, at around 8.45pm.
Ashish's family have, since, spoken up about the dangers of carrying knives and the impact it has not only on the victims and their families and friends, but also on the families of the perpetrators and the defendants themselves.
Sheetal said: "How are the children actually physically getting hold of these knives? We all know it's from the black market, but how are they able to access these knives via the black market? I mean, some of the children who are getting the knife are as young as young as 12."
"There's bigger problems around where these knives coming from and how are they getting hold of them and how can we prevent that."
Since losing Ashish 11 months ago, his family has been campaigning for better measures to be put in place both to educate young people around the dangers of carrying a knife, and to support them into getting out of life of crime.
"There's ways out of it in a safer environment, and you can you can report things anonymously, here is a channel for all of this. You can get the help and you can come out the other end", added Sheetal.
The family are backing Bedfordshire Police's 'Just Drop It' campaign.