Indian family found frozen to death near Canada/US border identified
New York/Toronto(PTI): The family of four Indian nationals from Gujarat, found frozen to death near the Canada/US border, has been identified, with Canadian authorities saying they had moved around the country for a period of time and met with their tragic end when they were driven to the border by someone, in a case being described as that of human smuggling.
Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11 and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, 3, all from the same family, were found dead near Emerson, Manitoba, approximately 12 metres from the Canada/US border on January 19 by Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Earlier, authorities had said that the family included an adult male, adult female, teen male and an infant. But it has now revealed the victims included a young girl and not a teen male.
Identities of the victims were confirmed by Canadian authorities and autopsies were completed on January 26.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Manitoba has confirmed that the cause of death was due to exposure, a statement from Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Thursday.
India's High Commission in Ottawa, Canada, said in a press release, which also identified the four victims, that the next of kin of the deceased have been informed.
The Consulate General of India in Toronto is in touch with the family of the deceased and is providing all consular support.
The High Commission offers its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victims, it said.
The press release from the mission added that Canadian authorities have also, after medical examination, informed that based on the circumstances, the death of all the persons have been determined to be consistent with exposure to the outdoor elements.
The RCMP confirmed that the Patel family arrived in Toronto on January 12, 2022 and from there they made their way to Emerson around January 18.
There was no abandoned vehicle located on the Canadian side of the border. This indicates that someone drove the family to the border and then left the scene, RCMP said, adding that it is looking to determine how they travelled from Toronto to Emerson.
With what we know so far of their activities in Canada, along with the arrest that occurred in the United States, we believe this to be a case of human smuggling, it said.
RCMP said the Patel family moved around Canada for a period of time and we are looking for anyone that may have had encounters with them.
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.
The day Shand was arrested, US Border Patrol authorities had received a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that bodies of the Patel family were found frozen just inside the Canadian side of the international border. Shand has been released from a prison conditionally and without paying a bond.
Following the discovery of the bodies, an extensive investigation was immediately launched and the Manitoba RCMP, including officers from Emerson RCMP Detachment, the Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) and Major Crime Services, worked in close collaboration with US Customs and Border Protection and the US Department of Homeland Security.
The RCMP has also been working closely with RCMP Liaison Officers in New Delhi, India and Washington, DC, and have been in regular contact with Indian consular officials, RCMP said.
The Indian High Commission and India's Consulate in Toronto are working closely with Canadian authorities on all aspects of the investigation into this incident.
A special team, led by a senior consular officer from the Consulate General of India in Toronto, is camping in Manitoba to assist ongoing investigations by Canadian agencies and to render any consular services for the victims, it said.
The High Commission said the tragedy has highlighted the issues of safe and legal migration as Canada is a preferred destination for Indian immigrants and students.
On longer term issues that this tragedy has brought into focus (is) the need to ensure that migration and mobility are made safe and legal and that such tragedies do not recur, the High Commission said adding that a number of ideas remain under discussion between India and Canada.
In order to prevent and suppress irregular migration, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings and to facilitate sustainable and circular mobility, India has proposed a comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA) to Canada, which remains under the consideration of the Canadian government.
People-to-people relations are an important pillar of India-Canada bilateral relations. Canada is a preferred destination for Indian immigrants and students. India and Canada work together to ensure the safety and well-being of all Indian immigrants into Canada. The two countries have a regular consular dialogue which takes up issues related to migration and welfare of citizens in each other's territories, the High Commission said.
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PIL in SC seeking action against racial violence targeting northeastern citizens
New Delhi (PTI): A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking judicial intervention to address the "continuing constitutional failure" to prevent and respond to racial discrimination and violence against citizens from northeastern states and other frontier regions.
The PIL was filed on December 28 in the backdrop of the brutal killing of Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura, who succumbed on December 27 to grievous injuries sustained in a racially motivated attack in Selaqui area of Dehradun.
Anjel from Unakoti district's Machmara went to Dehradun after completing his graduation in Holy Cross School, Agartala, to pursue MBA, where he was stabbed to death in the presence of his younger brother Michael.
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The family members of Chakma want capital punishment or at least life imprisonment for all the accused involved in the incident. Anoop Prakash Awasthi, a Delhi-based lawyer, has made the Centre and all the states and Union territories as parties to the PIL.
"That the present writ petition is being filed seeking issuance of writ under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking issuance of writ in the nature of mandamus, order, direction or any other appropriate writ for the violation of fundamental rights as under article 14, 19 (1) a & (g) and 21, and thus seeking judicial intervention to address the issue of racial discrimination and violence against Indian citizens from the north-eastern states and other frontier regions of India," the plea said.
"We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?" words that tragically became the last recorded assertion of Anjel Chakma about his constitutional belonging before the confrontation escalated into brutal violence, it said while recounting the offence leading to his death.
The plea referred to media reports about Chakma's death.
The attackers allegedly assaulted and stabbed both brothers and Chakma sustained severe injuries to his neck and spine, remained unconscious throughout his treatment, and died after more than fourteen days in intensive medical care, it said, adding his death triggered widespread anguish, protests, and demands for justice across the country.
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"Issue an appropriate writ (ad interim till a legislation is made) in the nature of formulating comprehensive guidelines, recognising 'racial slur' as a separate category of hate crimes and determining punishment for the same," the plea said.
It sought a direction to the Centre and the states to create a "nodal agency or a permanent body or commission or directorate" at the central level as well as at the level of each state where such racial crimes can be reported and redressed.
"Direct the respondents at central level as well as at the level of each state to make and create a dedicated special police unit in each district/metropolitan area to address the racial crimes," it said.
The plea sought a direction to the Centre and the states to organise "workshops and debates at educational institutes on the issue of prevailing racial discrimination and ways to redress the same".
The petition said that despite the unmistakable hate-based and racial motivation behind the crime, India's criminal justice system lacks any mechanism to recognise or record racial bias at the initial stage of investigation.
As a result, such offences are treated as ordinary crimes, "erasing motive, diluting constitutional gravity, and perpetuating a pattern of impunity", it said.
The plea said that the killing of Chakma is not an isolated incident but part of a long-standing pattern of racial abuse and violence against citizens from the northeastern states.
The petition recalls earlier cases, including the death of Nido Taniam in 2014 and numerous assaults on students and workers in metropolitan cities, incidents that have been formally acknowledged by the Centre in parliamentary replies but, according to the petitioner, remain unaddressed through any dedicated legislative or institutional framework.
