3 Indian Relatives, On Way To US, 'Vanish'. Then Comes A Call From Ethiopia

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.

Read : They Wanted A Life Of Luxury. But Ended Up In A Pakistani Terror Network

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 travel itinerary began on September 20, when the trio was taken from Gojariya to Jaipur, Rajasthan. From there, they boarded an Etihad Airways flight to Abu Dhabi before being routed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, the three stayed at a facility known as the GSF Camp on Swaziland Street under one-month e-visas.

The family initially received a phone call from Mamata on September 22, in which she claimed they had arrived safely in Canada.

However, immediately following that call, all three mobile phones were switched off, and all direct contact abruptly ceased.

The situation turned grim three days later when the family received a terrifying phone call from an unknown individual identifying himself only as Khan. The caller claimed to have kidnapped Mamata, Rithvik, and Mayuri, demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore for their release.

Facing financial exhaustion after already handing over tens of lakhs of rupees to the agents, Mamata's father, Kiritbhai Chauhan, publicly appealed to the government to intervene and save their children.

Alpesh Panchal later claimed that the trio never actually reached Canada and alleged they were kidnapped while still in Ethiopia.

Panchal claimed that his own primary international contact has gone missing and claimed he had already paid 60 lakh rupees to the abductors, who are now demanding an additional 1 crore rupees.

Local authorities at the Langhnaj police station have launched a full-scale investigation into the disappearance.

Police officials are actively examining the roles of the travel agents, attempting to trace the ransom call, and coordinating to verify the actual location and safety of the three individuals.