BAKERSFIELD, CA - A California Sikh woman Beant Kaur Dhillon is accused of drowning the newborn son of her teenage daughter and burying him in the backyard of the family’s home to “prevent family shame,” police said. The Bakersfield California reported that Dhillon’s 15-year-old daughter gave birth Nov. 12 in the bathroom of their home. Moments after the birth, the girl’s 23-year-old cousin took the baby from her arms.
Dhillon drowned the newborn and wrapped his body in a garbage bag. She and the cousin, Bakhshinderpal Singh Mann, dug a hole in a backyard flower bed and put the child inside, according to court documents obtained by the newspaper.
Dhillon allegedly admitted to police she drowned the boy to “prevent family shame,” the media reported.
Police dug up the boy’s body in early March after the girl, now 16, told someone about what happened and that person called the authorities, the documents said.
According to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors have also charged Dhillon’s husband, Jagsir Singh, 47, with felony child abuse and being an accessory to murder. Court documents allege he was called home after the couple’s daughter gave birth.
Neither Singh nor Dhillon sought medical attention for their daughter, the court records say. The California Department of Consumer Affairs lists Dhillon as a vocational nurse.
Singh was released on bail, 23ABC News reported. He committed suicide and his body was discovered at the family’s home. Mann is sought by police for his role in the baby’s death and the cover-up. Prosecutors have charged him with being an accessory to murder.
Mona Gill, co-founder of the Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association, told the Californian the slaying should be a “wake-up call” to the Sikh community, where teen pregnancy is taboo.
“The family is a central pillar in the Punjabi community,” Gill told the newspaper. “A traditional family unit is expected. That probably puts a lot of pressure on a young woman. Teen pregnancy isn’t something we see commonly.”That needs to change in light of the recent tragedy, she said.
The Bakersfield Police Department also posted information about the Safe Surrender Baby Law.
“This law allows distressed birth parent(s) to legally, confidentially, and safely surrender their baby within 3 days of birth to any fire station or emergency room within Kern County,” the Facebook post read.
According to the law, a bracelet is placed on the baby for identification. A matching bracelet is given to the parent.
“The bracelet will help connect the parent to the baby if the parent wants the baby back,” a Kern County Department of Human Services web page about the law reads.
A parent has up to 14 days to reclaim a baby, the page says. If no one reclaims the child, he or she is medically cleared and placed in a foster or pre-adoptive home.
Hope arose from an unusual meeting of hearts and minds on Mar 3 when Sikhs of all stations in life set aside confining mores and rigid protocols for a community discussion of sex, child abuse and family violence, according to Bakersfield.com at the Stine Road temple, Guru Angad Darbar Sikh Gurdwara, where such things are simply not discussed. “It was revolutionary for us,” Raji Brar, founder of the Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association, told the website. Kern County is home to an estimated 20,000 Sikhs.
“A lot of topics have come to the forefront. One was that this (unidentified 15-year-old) wasn’t one of those girls who were more ‘modern,’ it was a girl being raised in a traditional (Sikh) home. So people need to know it could happen in their home.” Counselors from Kern County Mental Health attended the meeting at the temple and spoke to the audience about the need for frank communication — and the need to help these specific victims, now.
Many, too, are discussing a funeral service for the infant.
Dhillon allegedly admitted to police she drowned the boy to “prevent family shame,” the media reported.
Police dug up the boy’s body in early March after the girl, now 16, told someone about what happened and that person called the authorities, the documents said.
According to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors have also charged Dhillon’s husband, Jagsir Singh, 47, with felony child abuse and being an accessory to murder. Court documents allege he was called home after the couple’s daughter gave birth.
Neither Singh nor Dhillon sought medical attention for their daughter, the court records say. The California Department of Consumer Affairs lists Dhillon as a vocational nurse.
Singh was released on bail, 23ABC News reported. He committed suicide and his body was discovered at the family’s home. Mann is sought by police for his role in the baby’s death and the cover-up. Prosecutors have charged him with being an accessory to murder.
Mona Gill, co-founder of the Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association, told the Californian the slaying should be a “wake-up call” to the Sikh community, where teen pregnancy is taboo.
“The family is a central pillar in the Punjabi community,” Gill told the newspaper. “A traditional family unit is expected. That probably puts a lot of pressure on a young woman. Teen pregnancy isn’t something we see commonly.”That needs to change in light of the recent tragedy, she said.
The Bakersfield Police Department also posted information about the Safe Surrender Baby Law.
“This law allows distressed birth parent(s) to legally, confidentially, and safely surrender their baby within 3 days of birth to any fire station or emergency room within Kern County,” the Facebook post read.
According to the law, a bracelet is placed on the baby for identification. A matching bracelet is given to the parent.
“The bracelet will help connect the parent to the baby if the parent wants the baby back,” a Kern County Department of Human Services web page about the law reads.
A parent has up to 14 days to reclaim a baby, the page says. If no one reclaims the child, he or she is medically cleared and placed in a foster or pre-adoptive home.
Hope arose from an unusual meeting of hearts and minds on Mar 3 when Sikhs of all stations in life set aside confining mores and rigid protocols for a community discussion of sex, child abuse and family violence, according to Bakersfield.com at the Stine Road temple, Guru Angad Darbar Sikh Gurdwara, where such things are simply not discussed. “It was revolutionary for us,” Raji Brar, founder of the Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association, told the website. Kern County is home to an estimated 20,000 Sikhs.
“A lot of topics have come to the forefront. One was that this (unidentified 15-year-old) wasn’t one of those girls who were more ‘modern,’ it was a girl being raised in a traditional (Sikh) home. So people need to know it could happen in their home.” Counselors from Kern County Mental Health attended the meeting at the temple and spoke to the audience about the need for frank communication — and the need to help these specific victims, now.
Many, too, are discussing a funeral service for the infant.
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