Gujarat man sentenced to 10 years in America when four out of four Indian family died in an attempt to smuggle

Three years after a heartbreaking tragedy with the US-Canada border, a person convicted for planning a human trafficking has sentenced him to 10 years in jail due to the death of four Indian migrants. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, an Indian citizen of Gujarat, was sentenced on Wednesday in a federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He was found guilty last year in four cases related to an international smuggling scheme. The prosecutors said that Patel played an important role in a criminal network that brought the people of India to Canada, then tried to snatch them into a remote and often dangerous ground stretch in the United States. The plan became fatal in January 2022 when Jagdish Patel, 39; His wife, Vaishaliben; His 11 -year -old daughter, Vihangi; And three -year -old son, Dharmik, from Dingucha village in Gujarat, to kill during an icy storm, because he tried to cross the border. The bodies of the family were found to be north of the Minnesota-Mainitoba border. US District Judge John Tunehaim, who chaired the case, called the tragedy “extraordinary” and “unimaginable”, quoted AP.“These were the deaths that were clearly avoidable,” he said during the sentence. Federal prosecutors pushed Patel’s leadership role and his deadly consequences for a rigorous punishment of about 20 years, citing the fatal consequences of his actions. Acting American Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick said the matter was conducted by Patel’s personal greed.“We should not make any mistake, it was the greed of the defendant who sets us here today,” Kirkpatrick told the court. Patel, wearing clothes in an orange jail uniform and did not speak during the hearing and showed no visible feelings while sentencing. He is expected to be deported in India after serving his tenure. The case also included Florida Anthony Shand, a Florida person, who was ready to take migrants after his crossing. The Shand, who was also convicted, faced punishment on the same day. According to the prosecutors, the Shand reciting Patel during the night of a deadly journey said, “We are not losing any money.” The court documents expanded the rigorous conditions claiming the family’s life. With air cold temperature at 38 ° C, the father allegedly tried to cool his young son’s face with a frozen glove. The mother died against a chain-link fence, which she could consider marked security. Seven other people in the group survived, although some faced frostbite and hypothermia. One person said that he had never seen snow before reaching Canada. Patel’s defense stressed that he was not more than the plan “Totem Poll on Less Man” and requested time punishment, only 18 months. But the judge rejected the argument, given that there was a huge evidence to connect Phetle to the operation under the nickname “Dirty Harry”. Despite his punishment, Patel denys participation in the smuggling ring and plan to appeal. His lawyers have applied for a publicly funded lawyer citing income and lack of assets. The tragedy has put a long shade on Dingcha village, where many residents have demanded migration abroad. Local reports states that Patel was a school student looking for better life.“It was not a close case,” Judge Tunim refused to reverse the jury’s decision in the previous judgment. The punishment closes a dark chapter in a story, exposing the risks that take migrants, and the costs of those who exploit their hopes.