Melbourne:
Two days after the mystery death of a 3-year-old Indian in Melbourne, an information caravan is being set up, which will make plea to public for information regarding the death of Gurshan Singh Channa.
Meanwhile, the police are investigating all angles and are not ruling out the possibility that the toddler was poisoned and will now be conducting toxicology tests. Eye witnesses are also being probed.
Even as investigations are on, parents of murdered child will be viewing the body of the child for the first time today.
At a time when Australia has promised to do all that it can to stop attacks on Indian nationals, comes news of the death of a 3-year-old child who, quite possibly, was murdered. Gurshan Singh had vanished from his home in a Melbourne suburb. His body was found 6 hours later.
Gurshan Singh, a shy 3-year-old, was last seen crying and screaming because his father went to the library without him. Six hours later, he was found dead, 20 km from his home. (
Read: Indian toddler vanishes, murdered in Oz)
It's a tragedy beyond words for his parents. "I am not in a condition to speak," says Gurshan Singh's father, Harjit Singh.
But there's a larger concern, for two countries, trying to stabilise relations that have come under immense strain after a series of attacks on Indians.
"We were not given the appropriate details explaining how the death of the boy happened. Parents were not allowed to see the body," said External Affairs Minister SM Krishna.
Commenting on the incident, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said, "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." (
Read: Krishna, Rudd react to Indian toddler's death)
The Australian Prime Minister stepped in shortly after the police confirmed that little Gurshan was murdered.
His body was discovered in the grassland near the Melbourne airport on Thursday night.
"I just urge people not to speculate on what may or may not have occurred. It's very early days in our investigation and we are treating the circumstances as suspicious," said Detective Inspector Steve Clark, Victoria Police.
An autopsy has not revealed how or why the child was killed.
The police have also questioned his parents, who said they regretted leaving the doors open. But strangely, no one noticed the boy being taken away or wandering in the neighbourhood. (
Read: Toddler's death in Oz: Indian community shocked)
Back in Faridkot, relatives are in shock. Gurshan and his father were about to return to India after a holiday with his mother, a student in Melbourne.
(See Pics)"We received a call from Australia that Gurshan had been kidnapped, and then murdered. This is very wrong and our government must act tough in this regard," says Darshan Singh, Gurshan's grandfather.(
Watch: Indian toddler dies in Oz; family in Faridkot mourns)
Facts unclear, relations already strained, but authorities have appealed for calm. The world will only know after facts of the case come out.
PTI adds:
The Union government has assured all kind of support to the toddler's family to bring back the body from Australia.
"The Government of India feels it is a very-very sad and a tragic event and it has been echoed by the Australian Prime Minister himself. They have assured us and Mr Krishna, who raised the issue, that the perpetrators would be brought to book," Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur told reporters in New Delhi.
"Assurance has been given to Gurshan's family that all the help and assistance would be provided to bring back the body," she said on the sidelines of a function ahead of the International Women's day celebrations in New Delhi.