Over suspected human trafficking, 2 agents held for Dingucha family's death on Canada-US border

Almost a year after four members of a family from Dingucha village in Gandhinagar district were found dead on the Canada-US border while attempting to crossover illegally to the US, Gujarat police registered an FIR and arrested two suspected agents who are alleged to be part of the human trafficking racket which allegedly "forced" the family members walk in the extreme weather to their death.

The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) officials said that they arrested Bhavesh A Patel, a resident of Kalol in Gandhinagar district and Yogesh C Patel, a resident of Ahmedabad on Sunday.

The move comes a day after registration of an FIR against four people including the duo and two others are based in Canada and the US. Police said that the FIR was registered on Saturday based on a complaint filed by DCB sub-inspector, D B Thakor, who was investigating the case for the past six to seven months.

The accused have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, criminal breach of trust, cheating, sections of human trafficking to be read with criminal conspiracy.

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Officials said that arrested duo worked as "tours & travels and visa consultants", and along with other unidentified agents, they were sending "willing Indians" to the US illegally through Canada and Mexico borders.

"The two would obtain visas and send people to Canada first. With the help of agents in Canada and the US, they will be sent to the US by crossing the border illegally. For this, the agents would charge Rs 60 lakh to Rs 65 lakh per person," DCB said in a statement on Sunday.

In a press conference, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chaitanya Mandlik, said, "These accused are involved in forcing the four members of Dingucha family including their two children and seven other people to walk in the minus-35-degree temperature."

Mandlik said that suspected traffickers took 11 people to Toronto and Vancouver in Canada and left them in Winnipeg in Manitoba province to cross over to the US on their own.

Mandlik told DH that two other accused- Fenil Patel and one identified as Bittu Paji- are wanted in the case.

The FIR and the arrests come nearly a year after four members of Dingucha village Jagdish Baldeshbhai Patel, 39, his wife Vaishaliben Patel, 37, and their two children-Vihangi Patel, 11, and Dharmik Patel, 3,- were found frozen to death on the US-Canada border on January 19, 2022.