Police praised in toddler investigation

MELBOURNE - The Indian community has praised Victoria police for their efforts in investigating the death of three-year-old Indian toddler Gurshan Singh.

One of the toddler's housemates, Gursewak Dhillon, 23, faced a court hearing before a bail justice last night, charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence over the death.

The little boy's body was found in long grass at Oaklands Junction, north of Melbourne, on Thursday, only hours after he vanished from his Lalor home about 20km away.

Vasan Srinivasan, president of the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria, says the Indian community is grateful for the diligent efforts of homicide detectives.

"We remain deeply shocked and saddened, but are grateful for the tireless efforts of the Victorian Police Force, the authorities who assisted in various ways and to the members of the Victorian public who reached out with messages of support," Mr Srinivasan said in a statement.

The federation will continue to provide any support the toddler's family needs, he says.

Little Gurshan's death had raised fears it would be linked to a spate of attacks against Indian students in the media.

Victoria Police had faced a barrage of abuse in India after the death of Indian student Nitin Garg in January and became a subject of Indian political cartoons that portrayed officers as members of the Klu Klux Klan.

Media coverage in India on the toddler's death, however, was far more muted and restrained.

The suspect in the boy's death was denied bail and remanded in custody over the long weekend and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles of the homicide squad told the out-of-sessions hearing that Dhillon "placed the child in the boot of his car unconscious but still alive".

"He then drove up to at least three hours with the child in the boot of the car, eventually stopping at Oaklands Junction, where he placed the child from the boot into the grass and did not check to see if the child was alive, then returned to 28 David Street, Lalor," Det Iddles said.

No evidence was given as to how the little boy was rendered unconscious.

An autopsy has so far not determined the cause of his death.

- AAP