23 yr old Man of Indian origin held for death of child in Melbounre

A 23-year-old man of Indian origin was charged on Sunday with the death of Indian boy Gurshan Singh Channa, whose body was found far away from his home in this Australian city, a media report said.

Dhillon Gursewak has been charged with manslaughter due to criminal negligence, Australian news agency reported.

Gursewak is not a relative but he lived in the same house in David Street where Gurshan stayed with his parents visiting from Punjab.

Gurshan was found dead on Wildwood Road on Thursday night after a massive search after his parents complained that the boy had gone missing. The body was found about 20 km away.


The police were hunting for a green Holden Commodore car, The Age reported.

Gurshan arrived in Australia in January with his parents. The family was due to return to India as his father Harjit Singh Channa failed to find work in Melbourne.

Singh and his wife Harpreet Singh Channa gave statements to police on Friday but officials say they are not suspects.

An autopsy had failed to determine the cause of death and the boy's full-clothed body showed no signs of trauma, the newspaper said.

Gurshan's death had caused an uproar in India, with New Delhi Friday describing the incident as "most unfortunate".

There have been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia, with one of them proving fatal. But the Melbourne police have urged people not to draw conclusions in Gurshan’s death.

"We need to be mindful that regardless of any opinions or anything like that, the key element is the investigation side of things," Victoria Police spokesman Marty Beveridge said on Saturday. "We need to give the homicide squad detectives the time and space to conduct our investigation."