There seems something sinister about Dingucha and the US. The bone-chilling episode involving the tragic deaths of a family of four from Dingucha, just meters from the US-Canada border in 2022, drew attention to the dangers of illegal immigration. We may recall that their bodies were found frozen, in -35 degrees Celsius weather, on the Canadian side of the border. Inquiries revealed they paid human smugglers an exorbitant amount in the tune of Rs 55 lakh each to be illegally transported into the US.
These seem mere details – news to be just consumed and forgotten. The village hasn’t learned given that a similar incident has occurred.
According to a report, another family from Dingucha was caught recently while trying to fly to London via Dubai on a UK visa that was allegedly secured using fake immigration stamps.
The case has been registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita: Sections 336(2) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security or will), 331(3) (house trespass), 340(2) (forged document or electronic record), and 54 (abettor present when the offense is committed).
The accused, Narendrasinh Vaghela and his agent Kalpesh Patel, faced an initial complaint of illegal immigration filed by an immigration officer. The case was taken over by the Special Operations Group (SOG) after investigations revealed that forgery had occurred, resulting in fresh charges against both men.
The report added that the scheme began to unravel at the immigration counter of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on October 16 when the family of four arrived for their flight. Immigration officer Kripalsinh Digvijaysinh Chudasma became suspicious when Vaghela, a resident of Vaghela Vas in Dingucha village, presented his Indian passport (number: U-3768571) for clearance.
The passport contained two sets of departure and arrival stamps dated February 5 and February 14, 2024, from two different airports: Istanbul, Turkey and Mumbai. Further checks indicated a similar pattern in the passports of his wife, daughter, and son.
During the interrogation, Vaghela admitted that the family returned from Turkey on February 15, a claim that the central immigration database contradicted. According to officer Chudasma’s complaint, the Vaghela family had flown to Istanbul on February 5 but was deported immediately, perhaps owing to discrepancies in their documents. They returned to India the following day.
It’s yet to be verified whether Vaghela’s agent removed the pages containing the February 6 arrival stamp from the passports. Vaghela attributed the deportation to Turkish authorities being suspicious of his beard while they cleared his family.
Further questioning revealed that Vaghela had given the passports to Patel, who operates a travel agency in Gandhinagar, for the processing of a UK visa. Patel allegedly returned the passports with counterfeit Mumbai arrival stamps after confirming the UK visa. The authenticity of the Mumbai airport stamps was verified by the Maharashtra Mumbai immigration department, which confirmed that the February 14 stamp was indeed forged. This led to new charges against Vaghela and Patel, filed by SOG police inspector SA Gohil.
As the grid of deceit tightens around Dingucha and its inhabitants, it is obvious that the ambitions for a better life are being exploited by those who stand to profit from the hardships of others. The tragic stories of these families are a stark reminder, if at all another was needed, about the lengths people will go to chase their dreams.
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