ottawa –
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 raids in multiple cities had uncovered “incriminating” evidence of “human trafficking.” said.
This allegation has not been tested in court. Officials from the federal government, RCMP, Indian High Commission in Ottawa and several Canadian universities did not immediately 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 indicted Steve Shand of Florida and Harsh Kumar, an Indian man arrested in Chicago, on four counts of bringing, transporting, and profiting from unauthorized persons into the United States.・Two people, Mr. Patel, were convicted.
Patel is a common name in India and the family is not related to the accused.
Prosecutors said Harshkumar Patel was coordinating the sophisticated operation while Shand was the driver. Prosecutors said Shand was planning to pick up 11 Indian immigrants at the Minnesota 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 news release Tuesday said authorities launched an investigation after receiving a report against Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel, who allegedly arranged the family’s vacation.
The agency claimed the entire family was charged the equivalent of $93,000 to $102,000 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.
“Once the individual or student arrived in Canada, instead of enrolling in a university, he or she illegally crossed the U.S.-Canada border and did not enroll in a Canadian university.”
Afterwards, the tuition fees he paid to enroll in the university were refunded.
The investigation revealed that every year around 25,000 students were referred by one organization and over 10,000 students were referred to various universities outside India by another organization, the release said. claims.
The network has about 1,700 agents in Gujarat and about 3,500 agents across India, of which 800 are active.
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.
Anil Pratham, a former top police official in Gujarat, worked on the case from January 2022 until his retirement this fall.
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 that they should come out and tell us who are the victims and who are the agents living there,” he said in an interview from Gujarat state. “This was helpful in the investigation.”
He said the process took nearly three years, as the first step was proving the crime, filing charges, investigating and finalizing charges.
Pratham said Gujarat police were assisted by police in Canada and New York.
We also received some advice for people who want to go abroad for study or work.
“There are legal ways to go from India to any country you want,” he said.
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.
President Trump threatens to impose additional tariffs on Canadian goods if Ottawa does not do enough to crack down on immigrants and drugs entering the U.S. illegally, and Ottawa will allocate $1.3 billion over six years to address border security. It happened.
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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 26, 2024.
