The gruesome death of four members of a Gujarati family trying to illegally cross over to the US through Canada’s -35 degree freezing temperatures has come as a rude reminder of a sordid international human smuggling racket that took shape in villages of North and Central Gujarat.
A source close to the deceased Gujarati family of Jagdish Patel disclosed to Vibes of India that he had paid Rs 65 lakh to various agents to facilitate their illegal access to the US. The person requested anonymity fearing his security could be at risk.
The story of Patel’s four-member family from the North Gujarat village Dingucha in Kalol taluka (tehsil or block) in Gandhinagar district is not isolated.
Four more families from the same village who were part of the contingent that was being infiltrated into the US through Canada are missing, sources in the village claim.
Law enforcement agencies, which have already arrested at least seven persons along with an agent who had already got into the US, said this entire group of people aspiring for the American dream had been staying in Winnipeg for months before they could be transported.
Jagdish Patel’s family had got separated from this group because of the inclement weather. The frozen bodies of Patel, his wife Vaishali, their 10-year-old daughter Gopi and son Dharmik, three, were found around 12 metres away from the US border.
Dingucha village is just a representative of hundreds of villages in North Gujarat’s Mehsana and Gandhinagar and Central Gujarat’s Kheda and Anand districts from where countless number of people have illegally reached the US during the past several decades. And the trend is continuing.
Pratik Patel (name changed to protect identity), who knew Jagdish Patel, told Vibes of India, “Everyone in Dingucha wants to go to the US and Jagdish too was keen for many years. Many have already got into America.”
He says, “We consider it a status symbol to have at least one member of our family in America, irrespective of the wealth we may have at home.” People in Dingucha (and many other villages) believe their sons will get brides from respectable families if they have connections in the US, says Pratik.
“There are any number of agents who can facilitate this, obviously for a high price that may run into many lakhs of rupees,” he added.
Another resident of the village said, “We have sent an email to the Ministry of External Affairs for details and photos of the dead for confirmation. We have also established contact with our friends in Canada who have reached Manitoba, but we are told that the Canadian authorities are not allowing them inside the hospital for confirmation.”
All members of the group had trekked for over 11 hours in the hostile weather, while the four who died got separated from the group in the biting cold weather, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The RCMP said the bodies were located around 12 metres inside Canada.
Read more : Gujarat Cops Launch Investigation Into US-Canada Human Smuggling Racket After 4 Gujaratis Freeze To Death
Read more : Family Of 4 Indians Frozen To Death Along US-Canada Border
Nothing more tragic than this, in recent years in this part of Manitoba, Canada ( especially involving East Indian community). In this particular case, the death of an infant and the family as a whole involved, the question that occupies my mind is: who facilitated Canadian Visa for these people? Where do the victims of these Human Trafficking rackets stay in Canada, after their entry ?
Is this all happening with the connivance with some Government Officials in India, because Forged or Illicit International Student Visa have been found on one of the lucky survivors who are in custody of appropriate authorities, both in Canada and USA. This racket, definitely has some siphoning conduit Via Canada !!?? Jag Singh