Police in India Charge Two Men in Deaths of Family Who Froze Crossing Into US
Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel (left to right), son Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, wife and mother Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel and daughter Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel are shown in a handout photo.(The Canadian Press/HO-Amritbhai Vakil)
Police in India say two men are facing charges in the deaths of a family who froze a year ago while trying to cross from Manitoba into the United States.
Deputy Commissioner Chaitanya Mandlik of the Ahmedabad crime branch in the state of Gujarat says the two men were arrested Sunday and other suspects are also wanted in Canada and the U.S.
He says the two men are accused of acting as immigration agents, supplying the family with paperwork and assisting them in getting to the U.S.
They are charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempting culpable homicide, human trafficking and criminal conspiracy.
Mandlik says the family travelled from India to Toronto, then to Vancouver and Manitoba, where they tried to make their way on foot into the U.S. with seven other migrants.
They said Jagdish Patel, his wife and their two children froze during severe winter weather.
Mandlik says law enforcement officials in India are co-ordinating with the Canadian Embassy for next steps.
