New York: A family of 4 Indian citizens found dead near the US-Canada border has been identified. Canadian officials said the family had been in the country for some time and had been taken to the border in a car. The case seems to be of human trafficking.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police of Manitoba said the deceased were identified as Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel (39), Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel (37), Vihangi Jagdish Kumar Patel (11), and Dharmik Jagdish Kumar Patel (3). These people were residents of the Dilgucha village of Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat.
They were all members of the same family, who were found dead on January 19 near Emerson, Manitoba, about 12 meters from the Canada-US border. Officials had earlier said that the family consisted of an adult male, adult female, teenage male, and infant, but now it has been reported that a teenage girl and a child are among the dead. Canadian authorities confirmed the identities of the dead and on 26 January the post-mortem of the bodies was completed.
The Consulate General of India is in touch with the family of the deceased
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Thursday that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Manitoba confirmed that the death was caused by a cold. The High Commission of India in Ottawa, Canada, confirmed the identities of the deceased in a press release and said that their families have been informed of the incident. The Consulate General of India in Toronto is in touch with the family of the deceased and all commercial level assistance is being provided.
The High Commission expressed its deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victims, the High Commission said in a statement. “No vehicle has been recovered from the spot, which seems to suggest that someone had brought the family to the border and then left there,” the RCMP said in a statement.
“Their activities in Canada and the arrests made in the US suggest this to be a case of human trafficking,” it said. The Indian High Commission in Toronto and the Indian Consulate are working closely with Canadian authorities on all aspects of the investigation into the incident. are.
