Three Gujarat Residents Abducted in Ethiopia on US ‘Dunki’ Route Return to India

Rutvik Jansari, Mamta Chavda and Mayuri arrived at Mumbai airport around 3 a.m. and were subsequently travelling to their hometown in Mehsana district, according to Langhnaj Police Inspector Ankush Gehlot.

“They reached Mumbai airport at 3 a.m. today with the help and coordination of the Ministry of External Affairs and other local authorities. They are on their way to Mehsana, their hometown,” Gehlot said.

The three had left Gujarat on September 20 after allegedly paying agents tens of lakhs of rupees to arrange their journey to the US. Police said they travelled through Jaipur and Abu Dhabi before reaching Ethiopia.

Their families lost contact with them after September 22, prompting Mamta Chavda's father, Kirit Chauhan, to approach Langhnaj police.

According to the complaint, Mamta's husband, Chiragkumar, had travelled to the US around six months earlier on a student visa. Mamta had reportedly applied for a US visa six times without success, following which the family turned to intermediaries to arrange an alternative route.

Police said the family initially contacted a person identified as Jitubhai, who subsequently connected them with Mehsana-based agent Alpesh Patel. Alpesh then allegedly introduced them to Bhargav Patel of Vadodara.

The cost of the journey was allegedly fixed at around Rs 75 lakh per person, while family members had earlier told reporters that approximately Rs 70 lakh per person had been paid to the agents.

After the trio reached Ethiopia, a man identifying himself as “Khan” allegedly contacted their families and demanded Rs 1 crore for their release. Rutvik's grandfather, Kanubhai Jansari, had claimed that the family paid Rs 60 lakh after the three were allegedly taken captive, although the ransom demand reportedly continued.

Gehlot said investigators had reportedly identified the alleged abductors as being linked to the “Baba Khan network”, while stressing that the case remained under investigation.

“The abductors have reportedly been found to be from the Baba Khan network. The matter is currently being investigated,” he said.

The families subsequently sought government assistance for the safe return of the three. Police are now investigating the alleged abduction, the ransom demand and the role of the agents who arranged the journey.

The case adds to a series of incidents involving people from Gujarat attempting to reach the US through irregular migration routes. In January 2022, a family of four from Dingucha in Gandhinagar district died from exposure while attempting to cross from Canada into the US. In 2023, a Mehsana family drowned in the St Lawrence River during a similar attempt.

In May 2025, a family from Mehsana was also among those aboard a boat that capsized off the California coast while allegedly attempting to enter the US from Mexico.