This trip resulted in the deaths of eight people from two families attempting to enter the United States illegally. Four victims were from India and four more from Romania.
Mehsana District Police Superintendent in the western Indian state of Gujarat Dinesh Singh Chauhan on Thursday announced the charges against two local people and a third person who may be living in Canada.
Dinesh Singh Chauhan, the police superintendent in Mehsana district in the western Indian state of Gujarat, on Thursday announced charges against two local people and a third who may be living in Canada.
Photo: Radio Canada / Sanket Sidana
The trio, who have not yet been arrested, face charges under a copy of the Indian Penal Code under four sections of the Indian Penal Code, including involuntary manslaughter, criminal breach of trust, fraud and dishonesty in obtaining property and criminal association will make a report to the police.
The complaint details the final stages of the journey of the Indian family who lost their lives in Akwesasne. She alleges the Indian agents first provided the itinerary for the trip, then gave false information by suggesting the family would cross the border by taxi before telling them at the last moment they would have to use a boat.
The complaint, seen by CBC, also alleges that the Indian and Romanian families were pressured into boarding a boat that kept breaking down in inclement weather.
The charges in India are the first linked to the deaths on the St. Lawrence River and appear to be aimed at the smugglers who organized the deadly voyage.
Crossing $100,000, the complaint says
It was Ashvinbhai Galalbhai Chaudhary who initiated the complaint. He is the younger brother of Pravinbhai Veljibhai Chaudhary who died in the tragedy along with his wife Dakshaben and two children, son Mitkumar and daughter Vidhiben. They are all from Mehsana district.
Ashvinbhai Galalbhai Chaudhary, 40, said he kept in touch with his family through phone and WhatsApp messages until the last moment.
He said his niece texted him around 10pm on March 29 while she was on the boat. A few hours later, the Akwesasne Mohawk Township Police Department released news of the recovered bodies.
Their boat didn’t work from time to time and the weather was very bad. After that, there was no more contact with them, according to the complaint, which CBC was able to translate.
Pravinbhai Veljibhai Chaudhari (right), Vidhiben Pravinkumar Chaudhari (the woman on the left) and Mitkumar Pravinbhai Chaudhari (centre) were found dead in the waters of the St Lawrence River in Akwesasne. (file photo)
Photo: CBC
Mr Chaudhary also mentioned that his brother was visiting Canada with his family in March when he received a call from a man they both knew, Nikulsinh Shamaruji Vihol. The latter ran a local company called Bajaj Finance in Mehsana. Mr. Shamaruji Vihol told his brother he could bring him to the United States for about C$100,000.
He [Nikulsinh Shamaruji Vihol] does this type of work, Chaudhary said, according to the police complaint.
Pravinbhai Veljibhai Chaudhary then asked his brother to help fund the trip, which he did by raising funds from friends and family members.
Ashvinbhai Galalbhai Chaudhary says smugglers pressured her brother’s family to board a boat in stormy weather before she drowned in the Saint Lawrence River in March.
Photo: Radio Canada / Sanket Sidana
According to police reports, the money was handed over to Nikulsinh Shamaruji Vihol and another man named Arjunsinh Ranjitsinh Chavada on a street near a local temple. The latter is the brother-in-law of Sachin Gajendrasinh Vihol, who is said to have lived in Canada for five years and was her contact in the country, according to the complaint.
After the payment, Sachin Gajendrasinh Vihol reportedly arranged a flight from Winnipeg to Montreal for Pravinbhai Veljibhai Chaudhary and his family. Then, over the next six or seven days, they were taken to multiple locations, from a motel to locations that complained of no water for showers and little food. Meanwhile, the suspected smugglers told the Chaudharys that the crossing was not yet safe.
Sachin Gajendrasinh Vihol insisted they would cross the border by taxi but that they would wait for the right moment. Then the plan changed. He informed the family that they would now take a short boat ride, which should take no more than five to seven minutes, depending on the complaint.
The community of Akwesasne straddles the borders of Ontario, Quebec and the state of New York.
Photo: Radio Canada
Encouraged to board a boat in the middle of a storm
On the day of departure, a car came to pick up the Chaudharys. The Romanian family was also in the vehicle. The complaint alleges that the Romanian family wanted to cancel the trip because the weather was stormy that evening.
Telephone conversations took place between Pravinbha Veljibhai Chaudhary and her brother. Ashvinbhai Galalbhai Chaudhary told Nikulsinh Shamaruji Vihol that he did not want his brother on the boat.
After an hour my brother called me. He told me that [Sachin Gajendrasinh Vihol] told them they had to leave that same day and that there would be a problem if they didn’t leave that day, the bereaved brother explained in his complaint.
We have encouraged them and spoken to them so that they gain confidence and are ready to join the United States. My brother trusted them and was willing to get on the boat to cross the river.
It was the last time he spoke to his brother.
According to the complaint, Ashvinbhai Galalbhai called Chaudhary Nikulsinh Shamaruji Vihol when he found his brother had not yet contacted him and was told to wait. She was then told that her brother and his family had been arrested by US authorities after crossing the river and entering America. Nikulsinh Shamaruji Vihol then has no further news.
Ashvinbhai Galalbhai Chaudhary then explained that on April 1 he learned through social networks and the media that his family had died in the river.
Nikulsinh Shamaruji Vihol, Sachin Gajendrasinh Vihol and Arjunsinh Ranjitsinh Chavada are being charged by Indian police. None of these men are in custody.
Two more bodies were recovered in Akwesasne on March 31, in addition to the six bodies discovered the previous day. (file photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz
CBC has not independently verified whether someone named Sachin Gajendrasinh Vihol, who lives in Canada, may have been involved.
No one has been charged in Canada yet.
In Canada, the investigation is being led by the Akwesasne Mohawk Police. The eight members of both families boarded a boat on Cornwall Island, which is part of the Akwesasne Territory. It is believed that they departed from the south-eastern part of the island.
Police are still searching for 30-year-old Casey Oakes of Akwesasne, who was last seen setting off in a light blue boat on the evening of March 29.
Casey Oakes is still missing and police are continuing their search. (file photo)
Photo: The Canadian Press/HO
Several agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Sûreté du Québec, are involved in the ongoing investigation. For its part, Homeland Security Investigations has launched a parallel investigation in the United States.
With information from CBC News’ Jorge Barrera, Steven D’Souza and Rachel Houlihan