Protective order issued against Apex machete attack suspect
A judge on Friday issued a protective order against a Cary man accused of attacking an Apex student with a machete last month.
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Neel Salil Mehta, 20, of 602 Halcyon Meadow Drive, is charged with attempted murder in the Jan. 12 attack on 18-year-old Priyanka Kumari as she walked home from a school bus stop.
Authorities said Mehta stalked Kumari, sending her harassing texts and messages through social media, and had planned the attack for weeks.
Although authorities initially identified Mehta as Kumari’s ex-boyfriend, her father, Pankaj Kumar, said his daughter and Mehta never dated.
Mehta remains in the Wake County jail under a $2 million bond. A judge earlier ordered that he have no direct or indirect contact with Kumari or her family if he is released on bond, but the one-year protective order expands those conditions to ensure none of Mehta's friends or relatives can contact Kumari either.
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