Gujarat: Family pawned gold, took loan from co-op bank for trip

More than a month after four members of the Chaudhary family from Mehsana drowned on the Canada-US border, Mehsana police have filed an FIR against three ‘agents’ based on a complaint from the victim’s brother. The three accused allegedly took Rs 60 lakh to facilitate the family’s illegal crossing.
All three are at large. On April 24, TOI had reported that three accused persons — Nikulsinh Vihol and Sachin Vihol, of Vadsan near Mehsana, and Arjunsinh Chavda, a resident of Dadhiyal near Visnagar — had taken Rs 60 lakh from the family.The report also states that the ill-fated boat ride — which led to the deaths of the Chaudhary family and a family from Romania — had been a last-minute change, with a taxi ride being the original plan. According to the FIR filed by Ashwin Chaudhary, a resident of Manekpura, at Vasai police station, he is the younger brother of the deceased, Pravin Chaudhary. Pravin (50), his wife Daksha, son Mit (20) and daughter Vidhi (24) had got visitor visas for Canada in January. Ashwin claimed the family did not know about the trip till the last moment.
Pravin, a farmer, had six bighas of land. Mit was in the final year of his graduation, while Vidhi had an MBA degree. The family had taken a flight from Ahmedabad to Toronto on February 3, and stayed at a hotel near the airport there. “Nikulsinh runs a financing business at the Kukarwada agricultural produce market. He told Pravin on March 10 that if they wanted to go to the US via Canada, he could arrange it with Sachin, who lives in Canada. Pravin then sent Ashwin to Dabhla Crossroads to meet Nikulsinh the next day and explore the possibilities. Nikulsinh demanded Rs 15 lakh per person for the crossing. He said he would be able to send the family across the border in a taxi,” said an official. The FIR states that Ashwin raised Rs 60 lakh from 11 people, including a loan of Rs 7 lakh from a cooperative bank, Rs 6 lakh from a gold loan and Rs 2 lakh from his own account. Ashwin made the payment in cash to Nikulsinh and Arjunsinh Chavda on March 23 on the Gozaria-Vasai road.