Indian nationals who froze to death near US-Canada border identified

The High Commission of India issued a statement on Thursday saying that the Canadian authorities have confirmed the identities of a family of four Indians, including a baby, whose bodies were found frozen in Manitoba near the Canada-US border on January 19.

Team Newsable

Ottawa, First Published Jan 28, 2022, 11:25 AM IST | Last Updated Jan 28, 2022, 11:25 AM IST

The Canadian authorities have identified a family of four Indian nationals found frozen to death near the Canada/US border, saying that the family had moved around the country for a period of time and was driven to the border by someone in a case being described as that of human smuggling.

The family, residents of Dingucha village in Kalol tehsil of Gandhinagar, was allegedly trying to enter the US illegally when they froze to death in the Manitoba province of Canada, near the US Canada border, on January 19.

“Further to the report of the tragic death of four people, including an infant, whose bodies were recovered near the Canada-US border in Manitoba on 19 January 2022, Canadian authorities have confirmed the identities of the four deceased. All the four were Indian nationals. The next of kin of the deceased have been informed,” the High Commission added in a statement.

According to a statement released by the High Commission of India, Ottawa, the four have been identified as Jagdish Patel (39), his wife Vaishali Patel (37) their daughter Vihangi Patel (11), and their son Dharmik Patel (3).

The Consulate General of India in Toronto is in touch with the family of the victims and is providing all consular support.

On January 19, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had discovered the four bodies, frozen to death, near Emerson town in Canada. On the same day, law enforcement agencies had arrested a US-based man, Steve Shand, for allegedly illegally trying to ferry two undocumented Indian nationals in his vehicle.

A criminal complaint was filed last week in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota against 47-year-old US citizen Steve Shand, who has been charged with human smuggling. Shand, a “suspected smuggler of undocumented foreign nationals” was arrested by American authorities near the US/Canadian border on January 19 for transporting two Indian nationals, who were illegally present in the US.

The two Indian nationals have been identified as ‘SP’ and ‘YP’ in the complaint. A group of five Indian nationals “illegally present in the United States were also identified and arrested” around the time of Shand’s arrest.

They have been released from Border Patrol's custody and processed for removal from the country. “All seven migrants who illegally entered the United States last week were administratively processed for removal and/or placed into removal proceedings as per the Immigration and Nationality Act,” a statement noted.

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