Gujarat family froze to death on US border, traffickers plead not guilty

An Indian-origin man who is accused in the human trafficking case of 2022, in which four of a family from Gujrat's Dingucha were killed, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of human smuggling. Alongside him, Steven Shand, 49, of Deltona, Florida, who was arrested on January 19, 2022, driving a van transporting seven individuals, including the four victims from Gujarat's Dingucha, near the US border, also pleaded not guilty to four counts during the same hearing. The victims, Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishali, and their two children -- Vihangi and Dharmik, were from Dingucha, near Gandhinagar, were found frozen to death near Emerson, Manitoba, approximately 10 metres from the Canada-US border while illegally attempting to enter the US. PATEL'S ILLEGAL STATUS IN THE US In a recent court document, an agent with the US Department of Homeland Security said Patel has been refused a US visa at least five times, including four at US consulates in India and once at the US consulate in Ottawa, Canada. HOW THE RENTED VAN OPENED THE CASE The whole case came to light when the US Border Patrol in Minnesota stopped a rented van driven by Shand.