NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Bakersfield, CA, July 6, 2026 — Nearly eight years after a newborn boy was found buried in the backyard of a Bakersfield home, the final defendant in the case has been sentenced, bringing to a close one of California’s most disturbing child homicide cases.
Bakhshinderpal Singh Mann, 31, was sentenced on June 10 to six years, time served, after pleading no contest to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who became pregnant, possession of sexually explicit images of the minor, and being an accessory after the fact in the death of his newborn son.
According to prosecutors, Mann was 23 years old when he impregnated a 15-year-old girl, who concealed her pregnancy until she gave birth in the bathroom of her family’s Bakersfield home on November 12, 2018.
Authorities said the infant was taken immediately after birth by the baby’s grandmother, Beant Kaur Dhillon, who later admitted to investigators that she drowned the child because she feared her unmarried daughter’s pregnancy would bring shame upon the family within the local Sikh community. Prosecutors argued that concern over family honor was the motive behind the killing.
Investigators said Mann helped bury the baby’s body in a shallow grave in the backyard. The girl’s father, Jagsir Singh, also participated in concealing the crime, according to authorities.
The teenage mother, who lost consciousness after giving birth, was later told that her baby had been placed for adoption. Months later, after a family dispute in which she learned the child had actually been buried behind the house, she confided in school counselors, who alerted police. Investigators recovered the infant’s remains from the backyard on February 26, 2019.
Following the discovery, Mann fled to Canada after allegedly removing his GPS monitoring device while on immigration supervision. He was arrested there in 2021 and remained in Canadian custody while extradition proceedings were completed. He was returned to Kern County in late 2024, entered a plea agreement in September 2025, and was sentenced this month. Defense attorney Elliott Magnus said the years Mann spent in custody in Canada counted toward his sentence.
“Hopefully this brings closure for everyone and they’re able to move on,” Magnus said following the sentencing.
Dhillon was convicted of first-degree murder in 2020 and is serving a sentence of 29 years to life in prison. During her trial, she recanted an earlier confession and denied drowning the infant, but jurors found her guilty.
Jagsir Singh, who had been charged as an accessory after the fact, died by suicide after posting bail in 2019.
With Mann’s sentencing, all criminal proceedings arising from the 2018 case have now concluded.
