A 47-year-old Indo-Canadian man accused of stabbing his two-year-old daughter to death will undergo a psychiatric evaluation of his fitness to stand trial.
TORONTO: A 47-year-old Indo-Canadian man accused of stabbing his two-year-old daughter to death will undergo a psychiatric evaluation of his fitness to stand trial, a judge has ordered.
Lakhvinder Kahlon, charged with first-degree murder, appeared dazed and distraught as he shuffled into Surrey Provincial Court in the British Columbia earlier this week.
Justice William MacDonald ordered that Kahlon undergo a psychiatric assessment of his fitness to stand trial.
The judge also ordered a publication ban on all evidence that led him to order the assessment.
"It's not uncommon in cases where there's a potential mental illness (for an assessment of fitness to be ordered)," Kahlon's lawyer, Kris Pechet, said outside the courtroom.
"He's highly distraught. Police were concerned about his mental state."
Kahlon was taken to the Forensic Psychiatric Services in Coquitlam, where he will remain until his next court appearance Feb. 15.
In court, Khalon, whose first language is Punjabi and who required a translator to follow the proceedings, appeared to have smears of black or heavy bruising around his eyes.
A friend of the family told The Province daily that just days before two-year-old Rajvinder Kahlon's death last Friday, the father of three daughters had called him to complain he had no son.
The family issued a statement through a friend on Thursday asking the public to refrain from making speculation about Rajvinder's death until the police investigation is complete.
"Her mother is extremely and understandably distraught at what has taken place with her family," the statement said.
"Her little girl was vibrant and precious. No one can imagine what (the girl's) mother is going through."
Police found the slain toddler after receiving several calls just before 9 AM last Friday.
According to family friend Surinder Johal, who said she spoke with the mother soon after the gruesome discovery, the little girl had been stabbed numerous times with a kitchen knife.
When police arrived, Kahlon did not resist arrest.
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