TORONTO: An Indo-Canadian man has been charged with killing his two-and-half-year-old daughter in the Vancouver suburb of Delta because he did not like having a third girl child.
Lakhvinder Singh Kahlon, 47, reportedly slit the throat of his baby Friday morning at their home when his wife, Manjit, was away to drop their two older daughters at school. He was reportedly unhappy having a third daughter.
When Manjit returned home at about 8.45 a.m., she found the baby, Ravinder, dead.
Screaming, she ran out for help. Neighbours called the police, who came and surrounded the house immediately and arrested Kahlon.
A construction worker, Kahlon was reportedly unhappy since Ravinder's birth and didn't go to work.
"Those who knew Kahlon told us that he was a changed person after the birth of Ravinder. She was his third daughter. Probably, he wanted a boy. He looked unstable and was often found doing bizarre things," Jasdip Wahla, an anchor with Channel M in Vancouver, said.
Although the police didn't say how Kahlon killed the daughter, the neighbours said his distraught wife told them that he had slit her throat. They said he was very cold towards the youngest daughter and often treated her rudely.
The body could be removed from the crime scene only Friday night as the police looked for clues and waited for formal warrants for Kahlon.
He was formally charged with first degree murder Saturday.
"This is a terrible tragedy. The family and community are devastated. The family members are safe and under the care of extended family and friends," the police said in a statement.
The Kahlon family immigrated to Canada from Punjab many years ago. Their other two daughters, nine and 12, were born here. Delta, like neighbouring Surrey, has a huge Indian-origin population.
