‘Wife cries herself to sleep’: No closure for kin of nine from Gujarat who went missing in Caribbean in 2023

Months after they went missing, three of these families filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Gujarat High Court seeking government help to trace their whereabouts. On June 27 this year, the court termed the PIL as “infructuous” after it was informed that the missing persons could not be located despite efforts by the Indian Embassies/High Commissions concerned and the Centre.

According to court documents, the nine persons travelled to Mumbai from Gujarat in October 2022. After nearly a month in Mumbai, the group flew to Amsterdam where they stayed 30 days. From Amsterdam, they went to the Port of Spain and then to Dominica, after which they were expected to travel to Antigua by boat. There is no direct ferry between these two islands, which are connected by a few short-haul flights. From Antigua, the group was to enter Saint Martin, an island divided into two parts that are under the control of the Netherlands and France respectively, before entering the US illegally.

The father of one missing person called north Gujarat a hotbed for illegal immigration. (Express Photo)

Besides Dhruvraj, the other missing persons include Nardipur village resident Ankit Patel, Ahmedabad’s Kirankumar Patel, Gandhinagar district’s Avani Patel, Mehsana district residents Sudhir Kumar Patel and Nikhil Patel, Kheda district’s Pratik Patel, Sabarkantha’s Bharat Rabari and Surat district’s Champa Vasava.

Speaking to The Indian Express after the June 27 High Court order, Vaghela says, “We keep waiting for Dhurvraj’s call but in vain. Forget sound sleep, my wife and I have not finished a meal, bought new clothes or attended celebrations since he went missing. On most nights, Neela (his wife) cries herself to sleep. I cry when she is not looking.”

Senior advocate Yatin Oza, who represented the petitioners, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had through India’s Ambassadors to the Dominica and other missions inquired into the whereabouts of the nine Indians in all the island countries they could have passed before they went missing.

He said primary investigations had revealed that the skipper (captain of a small boat) of the vessel these nine Indians were to take to Antigua had sent a distress signal. From Antigua, the group was to board a bigger vessel.

Oza said, “The skipper sent a distress signal to his brother that one of the engines had failed (at sea). While the skipper had expressed confidence that he would reach Antigua with one working engine, the Caribbean seas can be rough. The skipper may have taken the ship inside Guadeloupe (a French overseas territory in the Caribbean Sea) for safety. It is possible that (the vessel) may have been full of contraband (the region is notorious for smuggling), something the unsuspecting Indians did not realise.”

Since “no adverse news” has been received so far in the case of the missing nine persons, many families believe their relatives are under “detention” in a Caribbean nation. This, despite an MEA affidavit in court stating that the Department of Internal Security in Guadeloupe had said no Indians had been detained on the island. Dominica authorities too stated that the missing Indians were not present on the island, “under detention or otherwise”.

The entrance to Nardipur village in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district. (Express Photo)

Vaghela says, “Deaths of illegal immigrants do not go unnoticed. If they had met with an accident at sea or drowned, we would have known. Look at the case of the Dingucha family.”

In January 2022, a family of four from Dingucha village, also in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district, was found frozen to death in a blizzard near the US-Canada border. According to the authorities, the family, including two children, were trying to cross over to the US illegally.

Supporting Vaghela’s theory, advocate Oza says, “Accidents at sea in this region do not go unnoticed. To the best of our knowledge, the missing persons are most likely under detention in one of the overseas territories of France in the Caribbean. Two lawyers and I plan to travel to Guadeloupe and other Caribbean nations soon to gather more information on these missing persons.”

Vaghela says his belief that his son is alive was strengthened after one of the affected families received reports of their missing kin being spotted in a Caribbean island.

Blaming “peer influence” for his son’s determination to travel to the US via the dunki route, Vaghela said north Gujarat is a hotbed for illegal immigration. “In most villages, including my own, nearly all families have members who migrated abroad, mainly to the US. Dhruvraj was enamoured with the lifestyle of the locals who had made it to the US,” he says.

Despite his warnings, Vaghela claims Dhruvraj contacted travel agents and planned the journey. “Before he left, he told us that he had a US work permit.”

Nearly five months after the nine went missing, at least two of the families filed first information reports (FIRs) against the travel agents concerned. On July 12, 2023, Rabari’s wife Chetna Rabari filed a complaint at Sabarkantha’s Prantij police station, accusing agents of cheating her husband by taking Rs 20 lakh as advance payment in exchange for taking him to the US on a work permit. On July 15, 2023, Sudhir Patel’s brother lodged an FIR against an agent at Mehsana taluka police station, accusing him of taking Rs 10 lakh as advance payment to get his brother to the US.

In both the FIRs, the common accused include Divyesh ‘Johnny’ Patel and Dingucha resident Mahendra ‘MD’ Baldev Patel, a relative of the family that froze to death.

Meanwhile, a distraught Vaghela said, “This generation blames their parents for their fate, which is why we conceded to Dhruvraj’s wishes. I regret not stopping him, but I will not allow my second son to follow in his brother’s footsteps. At this stage, I just want to know if my son is alive or not. If he is under detention, he will be deported to India. If he is dead, we will finally get closure.”