AHMEDABAD: Four Indians who froze to death in Canada belonged to a family in north Gujarat’s Kalol taluka in Gandhinagar district, preliminary investigation revealed.
On Thursday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that the bodies of four persons — two adults, a teen and an infant — were found on the Canadian side of the US-Canada border in Manitoba province.
Sources said a local agent and his aide had a role in illegally sending members of the Patel family to the US. A Crime Branch team reached Kalol to investigate further.
Sources in New Delhi said the Indian mission are in touch with Canadian authorities for ascertaining the details of the tragedy. The post-mortem of the victims is likely to be done on January 24. US authorities have detained seven people without proper documentation, as well as one US citizen, for allegedly being involved in human smuggling activity from Canada to the US, they said.
Confirming the nationality of the deceased, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Ajay Bisaria described it as a grave tragedy. “An Indian consular team is travelling from Indian Toronto to Manitoba to coordinate and help. We will work with Canadian authorities to investigate this event,” he tweeted.
According to a criminal complaint filed in a court in the US state of Minnesota, foreign nationals found on the US side spoke in Gujarati. Manitoba RCMP was notified by US Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday morning that a group of people had crossed over the border and one of the adults was carrying items intended for a baby, but there was no infant with the group