A desperate plea for help has emerged from Gujarat’s Mehsana district as three young family members who set out for the United States have mysteriously vanished abroad, leaving their terrified relatives facing a staggering ransom demand.
The missing have been identified as 30-year-old Mamata Chavda, her 23-year-old cousin Rithvik Jansari, and her 27-year-old cousin Mayuri Solanki.
Mamata, whose husband has lived in the United States on a student visa for the past three years, had faced six consecutive visa rejections. Desperate to unite the family, the relatives turned to an illegal human smuggling network after a local agent named Alpesh Panchal promised to get them to America through unconventional routes. The situation turned grim three days later when the family received a terrifying phone call from an unknown individual identifying himself only as Khan.
Panchal connected the family with Vadodara-based agent Bhargav Patel, who agreed to transport the trio to the US for a fee of 75 lakh rupees per person. Over the course of the arrangements, the family paid approximately 70 lakh rupees up front to the handlers. The family initially received a phone call from Mamata on September 22, in which she claimed they had arrived safely in Canada. The caller claimed to have kidnapped Mamata, Rithvik, and Mayuri, demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore for their release.
