A man accused by police in India of helping smuggle a family of four through Canada just before they froze to death on the Manitoba border with the United States has been found living freely in a suburb outside Toronto, an investigation by CBC’s The Fifth Estate has found.
Indian police allege Fenil Patel was one of two men who helped transport Jagdish Patel (no relation) and his family to the border during a blinding snowstorm and –35 C temperatures two years ago.
The Patel family died of exposure on Jan. 19, 2022, while attempting to cross illegally into Minnesota, near Emerson, Man. The frozen bodies of 39-year old Jagdish Patel, his 37-year old wife, Vaishali, their 11-year old daughter, Vihangi, and three-year old son, Dharmik, were found just 12 metres from the U.S. border.
Fenil Patel is facing charges in the Indian state of Gujarat of culpable homicide and human smuggling for his alleged role in the death of the Patel family.
The fuckwit who clearly abandoned them aside, this is just so so sad. I hope they just felt sleepy before they went.
My kids are a similar age to one of the children that died, it’s totally heartbreaking.
To imagine ushering my children out into the bitter bitter cold to try to build them a better life… so sad.
We need to build a world where people are less desperate.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In an interview with The Fifth Estate, Chaitanya Mandlik, deputy commissioner of the Gujarat state police, Ahmedabad crime branch, confirmed the man found by the CBC investigative program is the same Fenil Patel they’re seeking.
In response to a followup email from The Fifth Estate last week, a Justice Department spokesperson wrote: "We cannot confirm or deny the existence of a potential request until made public by the courts.
Deepak Ahluwalia, an immigration lawyer in California who grew up in Brampton, Ont., has represented migrants seeking asylum who have crossed into the U.S. illegally from the southern and northern borders.
Through its investigation, The Fifth Estate pieced together more information about the route the group of migrants took to reach the border and the role Indian police allege Fenil Patel played.
In the spring of 2023, The Fifth Estate obtained, through sources, an Indian police report detailing the charges against Fenil Patel, including part of migrant Varshil Dhobi’s witness account.
The police report described the accused human smugglers as men driven by greed who knew the risks of sending migrants into dangerous weather without adequate clothing, but chose to anyway.
The original article contains 1,955 words, the summary contains 190 words. Saved 90%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
