Indian Toddler Gursharan Singh's Death













Families in two towns of Punjab plunged into grief as Australian authorities began probing the unnatural death of an Indian toddler who was on a holiday in Melbourne with his family while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd pledged to get to the bottom of the “horrible” incident.



“The death of any little child causes everyone in this country to stop, pause, think, reflect. If this is a case of murder, there is nothing worse than the brutal murder of a little child. The authorities are investigating it and we have every confidence the authorities will get to the bottom of it,” Rudd was quoted by AAP as saying.


His comments came as police said the autopsy failed to determine the cause of death of three-year-old Gursharan Singh whose body was found on the side of a road in Melbourne’s northern suburbs six hours after he disappeared from the family home yesterday.


Gursharan was in Australia on a holiday with his family and was due to return to India later this week. His body was found by a council worker in long grass around 30 km from his residence.


His mother Harpreet Kaur, who was studying in Australia, rang police after he had been missing for 45 minutes, prompting a massive search involving more than 15 police units, the dog squad and air wing.


The family had arrived in Australia from India on January 9, planning to stay. However, they decided to leave next week as the father, Harjeet Singh, could not find work.


Relatives and friends of Harjeet Singh said he used to run a fitness club in Kotkapura but had shut shop two months ago to join his wife in Melbourne who had taken joined a food processing course.


“His father told me that Rinto (Harjeet’s nickname) would be returning home on March 8. First, I was told that our baby has been kidnapped. Later, I was told he is dead,” said Harjeet’s uncle Darshan Singh.


Harjeet’s parents are settled in Canada. As word of Gursharan’s death spread, Harjeet’s friends rushed to
Guruharsahai to be with his in-laws.


Gursharan apparently disappeared around 1 pm Thursday while his mother was taking a shower. His father had stepped out of home and police believe that Gursharan followed him out of the house but failed to catch up with him.