Indian found guilty for death of 4 of Gujarat family on US-Canada border

A Minnesota court jury has convicted Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, also known as 'Dirty Harry,' and Steve Anthony Shand for facilitating the illegal border crossing of an Indian-Gujarati family of four, which ultimately led to their deaths.

The Dingucha family, including two children, froze to death while attempting to cross the US-Canada border in January 2022.

Both men, Patel and Shand, have been convicted for human smuggling, including conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the US illegally.

Patel, an Indian-national also known as 'Dirty Harry', and Shand, a Florida resident, now face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the first and second counts and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the third and fourth counts, according to the US Department of Justice.

The verdict on Friday came at the end of a trial that lasted five days. The trial started on November 18.

The victims originally from the Dingucha village in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district -- Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife, Vaishali, 37, and their children, Vihangi, 11, and Dharmik, 3, froze to death just 12 metres from the border in Canada's Manitoba during a severe blizzard. US authorities said the family died of hypothermia.

According to the court documents, both the men were part of a large-scale operation that smuggled Indian nationals into the United States via Canada. The scheme involved bringing people to Canada on student visas, then illegally transporting them across the border into the US.

Patel worked with associates in Canada to plan smuggling trips, while Shand was tasked with picking up migrants from the border and driving them to destinations such as Chicago. Despite dangerous winter conditions, the two ignored the risks in exchange for payment.

The illigel operation of Patel and Shand came to light on January 19, 2022, when US Border Patrol stopped a van driven by the latter near the Minnesota-North Dakota border.

Shortly after, law enforcement found five Indian migrants walking nearby, who said they had walked for over seven hours in freezing cold, expecting to be picked up.

One group member carried a backpack with children's items, which he said belonged to a family of four who had separated from the group.

That same day, Canadian authorities discovered the bodies of two adults and two young children frozen to death on the Canadian side of the border.

The federal district court in Minesota will determine the sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, on a later date, the BBC reported.