Canadian police reach Gujarat to investigate death of Dingucha family in Canada

Canadian police were investigating a case where a family from Dingucha had died while illegally crossing the US-Canada border.

Ahmedabad:A team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) visited Ahmedabad and other parts of the state in connection with the investigations into a case where four members of a family from the state froze to death last year while trying to illegally enter USA from Canada with the help of agents.

Earlier, the Gujarat police had informed their Canadian counterparts about the investigations. Sources said the Canadian team questioned all immigration agents about the whereabouts of five persons living in Ahmedabad, Anand and Vadodara.

Sources said RCMP had come to Gujarat to investigate the Dingucha case where the family had died while illegally crossing the US-Canada border. Presently, the Gujarat police crime branch is probing the matter. The team had visited the state earlier as well. The RCMP team discussed various matters regarding the incident and left, Chaitanya Mandlik, DCP, Ahmedabad Crime Branch said.

In January 2022, the victims, Jagdish Patel along with his wife and two children, residents of Dingucha village in Gandhinagar died due to extreme cold when they were crossing the US-Canada border. Later, three immigration agents, Yogesh Patel, Bhavesh Patel and Dashrath Chaudhay, were arrested for facilitating the family's journey.

During investigation, it was revealed that the arrested agents had sent a total of 11 people from the state to Canada and tried to help them to cross the border illegally and enter USA. While the couple and two children from Dingucha died, seven remaining people were arrested by US authorities and sent them back to Canada. It was revealed that the agents had compelled them to cross the border on foot by walking amid snowfall and intense cold.