Gurshan Singh's memorial service to be held in Punjab

Kotkapura (Punjab), Mar 15(ANI): A memorial service for three-year-old Gurshan Singh, who was found dead near Australia's Melbourne airport on March 4, will be held in his native village in Punjab's Faridkot district on Monday.

Earlier on Sunday, Gurshan's body was brought back from Australia and taken to his native village for cremation in a Sikh ceremony.

According to reports, Gurshan's father Harjit Singh Channa and mother Harpreet Kaur Channa arrived with the body at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital on a Thai Airways flight.

Speaking over the shocking incident, Harjit Singh asked for stringent punishment for the accused, taxi-driver Gursewak Dhillon.

"After the police investigation, it was known that the child was hit when the door of the car opened. The police say he (Dhillon) then carried the unconscious toddler in the trunk of his cab and then dumped his body. He should be punished. He should have contacted us; shouldn't he have taken the boy to the hospital? The government should give him stringent punishment," Channa said.

Gurshan went missing on March 4 from a house in Lalor, where the family was staying.

His body was later found near Melbourne Airport, about 30 kilometers from where the toddler disappeared.

Dhillon, a 23-year-old acquaintance who shared the home with Gurshan's parents and others, has been charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence.

Police have successfully opposed bail, claiming that the taxi driver was a flight risk.

Dhillon, who has a wife in Australia and a daughter in India, made a brief appearance in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody to appear for a committal hearing on June 29.

According to the police, Dhillon placed the unconscious boy in the boot of his car, drove him around for at least three hours and dumped him at Oaklands Junction without checking to see if he was still alive. (ANI)