3 Gujaratis en route to the US go missing in Ethiopia, abductors demand ₹1 crore

Rutvik Jansari, Mamta Chavda, and Mayuri from Mehsana and Gandhinagar left for the US on September 20 with the help of agents

Published on: Oct 1, 2026, 09:15:56 IST

By Maulik Pathak

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Three members of a family from Gujarat on their way to the US through an illegal migration route have gone missing in the East African nation of Ethiopia, with their relatives claiming they were abducted for a ₹1 crore ransom. The alleged abduction is the latest in a series of cases involving perilous routes for illegal immigration from Gujarat.

The alleged abduction is the latest in a series of cases involving perilous routes for illegal immigration from Gujarat. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The three, Rutvik Jansari, Mamta Chavda, and Mayuri from Mehsana and Gandhinagar, left for the US on September 20 with the help of agents. They last contacted their kin on September 22, according to the complaint lodged with the Gujarat Police.

Chavda’s father, Kiritbhai Chauhan, told police that the family approached agents to arrange her travel to the US after she failed to obtain a visa. The agents allegedly offered to facilitate the journey for around ₹70 lakh each. The three flew to Abu Dhabi via Jaipur and to Ethiopia.

A man identifying himself as “Khan” allegedly contacted the family and demanded ₹1 crore ransom for their release.

Police registered a missing persons complaint after Chauhan reported losing contact with the three. Inspector AM Ghelot said they are investigating the circumstances under which the three went missing.

Jansari’s grandfather, Kanubhai, said they had paid ₹60 lakh after the three were taken captive, but the abductors continued to demand ₹1 crore.

In October 2025, four people, including a couple from Gandhinagar, allegedly headed to Australia, claimed they were held captive in Tehran before they were released after the Indian government’s intervention and returned home.

A family from Gujarat’s Mehsana attempting to illegally enter the US from Mexico was among at least 16 people on a boat that capsized in waters off Torrey Pines State Beach in May 2025. In January 2022, a family of four from Dingucha (Gandhinagar) froze to death while trying to cross from Canada into the US. A year later, a Mehsana family drowned in the St Lawrence River during a similar attempt.

Despite deportations, illegal immigration continues. Smuggling networks charge exorbitant fees to transport migrants through complex international pathways. Alternative routes include hazardous sea passages to Europe.

In December 2023, French authorities grounded a chartered Legend Airways flight from Dubai to Nicaragua carrying 303 Indians, including 66 from Gujarat, exposing a human trafficking operation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines, and real-time updates from across the nation. Stay informed on politics, government policies, crime, weather, and major national developments.