US judge denies new trials in case of Indian family frozen to death at Canada border

Jaddish Patel and Vaishaliben Patel, with their children Dharmik, 3, and Vihangi, 11

Four Indian nationals who died from exposure during a blizzard while attempting to cross the Canada-US border in 2022 remain central to a human smuggling case, after a US federal judge on Tuesday rejected requests for new trials from two men convicted in connection with their deaths.

The convicted men, identified as Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Anthony Shand, were denied new trials by US District Judge John Tunheim on Tuesday.

The victims were 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi, and 3-year-old son Dharmik. They died on January 19, 2022, after freezing to death during a blizzard.

Their bodies were discovered just north of the Canada-US border, near the Manitoba-Minnesota boundary.

Family from Gujarat was on foot in the blizzardThe family, originally from Dingucha village in Gujarat, had attempted to cross the border on foot in severe weather. Seven other members of their group survived the journey.

Judge Tunheim declined to overturn the guilty verdicts delivered last November against Patel and Shand.

His ruling now allows both men to appeal their convictions to a federal court after they are sentenced on May 7.

Lawyers for both men argued the evidence was insufficient. “But this was not a close case,” Tunheim responded.

The judge concluded there was ample evidence for the jury to convict both Shand and Patel on all four charges. He acknowledged that prosecutors disclosed a previous disciplinary issue involving a testifying border patrol agent late in the trial — which he called concerning — but said it had minimal impact on the case overall.

He also upheld his decision to try both defendants together rather than separately.

Prosecutors told the court that Patel, an Indian national allegedly using the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Shand, a Florida-based American, were part of a sophisticated illegal network helping an increasing number of Indian nationals enter the US.