Indian law enforcement is investigating alleged links between dozens of Canadian universities and two Mumbai “entities” accused of illegally transporting students across the Canada-U.S. border announced.
A Tuesday news release from the Enforcement Directorate of India, a multidisciplinary organization that investigates money laundering and foreign exchange laws, said the multi-city raids uncovered “incriminating” evidence of “human trafficking.” .
This allegation has not been tested in court. Officials from the federal government, the RCMP, the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and several Canadian universities did not respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Embassy said Thursday it had no comment.
Indian authorities say Jagdish Baldevi Patel, 39, was found dead along with his wife and two children near the Manitoba-U.S. border on January 19, 2022. announced that an investigation had begun.
Last month, a Minnesota jury found Steve Shand of Florida and Harshkumar Patel, an Indian man arrested in Chicago, guilty of bringing unauthorized people into the United States, transporting them, and profiting from them. He was found guilty on four related charges.
Patel is a common name in India and the family is not related to the accused.
Prosecutors said Harshkumar Patel coordinated the sophisticated operation, and Shand was the driver who picked up 11 Indian immigrants on the Minnesota side of the border. Only seven people survived the crossing on foot. Canadian authorities found the Patels later that morning, dead from the cold.
Harshkumar Patel and Shand have not yet been sentenced and may appeal.
A Minnesota jury has cleared Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel on all human smuggling charges after a family from India froze to death while trying to walk across the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba in 2022. He was found guilty on the charges.
India claims man arranged admission to Canadian school
A news release Tuesday said authorities launched an investigation after receiving a report against Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel, who allegedly arranged the family’s travel.
The agency claims the entire family was charged between $93,000 and $102,000 worth of fees to enter the United States from Canada.
The incident is known as India’s Dhingcha incident, after the village in the western Indian state of Gujarat where the family hails from.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate said it had searched eight locations in Mumbai, Nagpur in Maharashtra, Gandhinagar and Vadodara in Gujarat.
It also alleges that Bahesh Ashokbhai Patel arranged for people to enroll in Canadian universities and helped them obtain student visas.
The news release did not identify the schools suspected of being involved.
Directorate alleges more than 100 Canadian universities are involved
“When individuals or students arrived in Canada, instead of enrolling in a university, they illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border and never enrolled in a university.[s] In Canada.”
According to the Enforcement Directorate, the tuition fees paid for admission to the university have since been refunded.
The release said the investigation found that every year around 25,000 students are referred by one organization and more than 10,000 students are referred to various universities outside India by another organization.
The network has around 1,700 agents in Gujarat and around 3,500 agents across India, of which 800 are active, authorities claim.
The release claims that “approximately 112 Canadian-based universities” have agreements with one entity and “more than 150” universities have agreements with another entity.
It is unclear from the release whether any universities are affiliated with either organization.
Police investigated the documents used by the student.
Pratham, a former senior police official in Gujarat state who is now retired, was involved in the investigation as far back as January 2022, when the Patels died.
He told The Canadian Press that his team looked at paperwork such as certificates and documents that students use when applying to universities overseas.
Police then contacted villagers through various organizations and asked for help.
“We told the villagers to come out and let us know. [us] Who are the victims and who are the operatives living there,” he said in an interview from Gujarat. “This helped us in our investigation.”
He pointed out that the Gujarat police had taken cooperation from the police in Canada and New York, adding that the first step is to prove the crime, file a complaint, investigate and finalize the charges. said it took nearly three years.
He also advises those who want to go abroad for study or work to take the legal route.
“There are legal ways to go from India to any country you want,” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of supporting violence in Canada and said the Indian government had made a “fundamental mistake.” Canadian security expert Wesley Wolk discusses how tensions between Canada and India got here and whether a diplomatic solution is possible in the wake of these recent allegations.
Diplomatic tensions between Canada and India
News of the Indian investigation comes amid tensions with the United States over border security, the federal government’s rethinking of international student policy, and diplomatic tensions with India over New Delhi’s alleged targeting of Sikh activists in Canada.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods if Ottawa doesn’t do enough to crack down on immigrants and drugs entering the U.S. illegally, and Ottawa is threatening to impose tariffs on Canadian goods to address border security. A billion dollars was allocated.
Earlier, in October, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats for allegedly using their positions to collect information about Canadians and pass that information on to criminal organizations that directly targeted individuals. did.
At the time, Canada also claimed that India’s interior minister had ordered an intelligence-gathering operation against Sikh separatists who advocate carving out an independent state called Khalistan from India. New Delhi rejects Ottawa’s claims.
