Australian police allege part-time taxi driver of manslaughter

08-03-2010

AUSTRALIAN police on Sunday (7) charged a man with manslaughter over the

death of an Indian toddler whose body was found dumped by the

road-side.

 

Gurshan Singh's (pictured) body was found in the grass beside an isolated road in

Melbourne on Thursday night. An initial autopsy was inconclusive.

 

Police allege that a part-time taxi driver who had been sharing a

house with the boy and his family was responsible for his death.

 

Gurshewak Dhillon, 23, has been refused bail. Detective Senior

Sergeant Ron Iddles accused him of placing the boy unconscious but

alive in the boot of his car.

 

"He drove up to three hours, stopping at Oaklands Junction, where he

placed the child into the grass and did not check to see if the child

was alive," Iddles alleged.

 

Iddles did not mention how the boy came to be unconscious.

 

The toddler disappeared from the house on Thursday afternoon while his

mother was taking a shower and his father was at a nearby library. His

body was found by a council worker about six hours later around 30

kilometres (20 miles) away.

 

The parents are from the Punjab in northern Indian and are students in

Australia.

 

There had been fears the case could further damage relations between

Australia and India which have plunged in recent months following a

series of attacks on Indian students, including the murder of a

21-year-old Punjab man.

 

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith last week made a goodwill visit to

India to bolster trade ties and quell fears about the safety of Indian

students in Australia.

 

Smith admitted that "We do have a job to repair some damage to our

reputation as a result of the way in which the students issue has been

perceived."