Australians call for calm over Indian boy’s death

SYDNEY - Melbourne police Saturday urged the Indian community not to jump to conclusions over the death of a three-year-old Indian boy whose body was found in a Melbourne street six hours after he went missing from his home.

A spate of racist attacks in Australia’s second-biggest city is testing bilateral ties, with the Indian government openly calling for greater security for its citizens in Australia.

“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. “We need to give the homicide squad detectives the time and space to conduct ourinvestigation.”

The fully clothed body of Gurshan Singh Channa was found by the side of the road 20 km from where he went missing Thursday. There were no marks on the body and an autopsy has failed to establish a cause of death.

“We’re still awaiting further tests on the boy’s body to try and establish the cause of death,” Beveridge said.

The boy’s parents, who were on holiday in Australia and were to have returned to Punjab this week, have been interviewed by police.

Police say they have no suspects and that the death is as yet unexplained.