Melbourne court told that Indian toddler killer panicked

MELBOURNE - The man who dumped the body of Indian boy Gurshan Singh Channa after accidentally knocking him unconscious had acted out of fear, panic, naivety and stupidity, a Melbourne court has heard.

Three-year-old Gurshan was alive when Gursewak Dhillon placed him unconscious in his car boot on March 4 and drove around for two hours before dumping him in grass by the roadside 20 kilometers from his family’s home in the Melbourne suburb of Lalor.

A truck driver found Gurshan’s lifeless body later that day.

According to The Age, Indian national and part-time taxi driver Dhillon has pleaded guilty to Gurshan’s manslaughter by criminal negligence.

The 25-year-old, who lived with Gurshan and his parents, admitted knocking the toddler unconscious with the front door.

Prosecutor Gavin Silbert said Dhillon feared he would be blamed if the police or ambulance were called and that he would be deported.

Defence barrister Chris Winneke told the court Dhillon had acted out of “fear, panic, naivety and stupidity” which may well have caused Gurshan’s death.

“It’s true that the death of Gurshan Channa is tragic. It was a death that need not have occurred and would not have occurred if not for the conduct of the prisoner,” he said.

Winneke said there was an element of self preservation about Dhillon’s actions, adding there was no excuse for his “grossly stupid decision” to place the child in the boot where temperatures could have soared to 40 degrees.

He said Dhillon did not know whether Gurshan was dead or alive when he dumped him. (ANI)