Full Breakdown
Gujarat Family’s Journey to the United States Ends in Unexplained Disappearance in Ethiopia
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The Disappearance
Three related residents of Gujarat—30-year-old Mamta Chavda, her 23-year-old cousin Rutvik Jansari, and 27-year-old cousin Mayuri—departed from their home village of Gojariya on September 20. They travelled by road to Jaipur, Rajasthan, then boarded an Etihad Airways flight to Abu Dhabi before being routed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. According to the family, the trio stayed at a facility known as the GSF Camp on Swaziland Street under one-month e-visas. A phone call from Mamta on September 22 indicated they had arrived safely in Canada, after which all three phones were switched off and contact ceased. Three days later the family received a call from an unknown individual identifying himself only as “Khan,” who claimed to have kidnapped the three and demanded a ransom of INR1 crore for their release.
Background and Context
Mamta Chavda’s husband, Chirag Kumar, has been in the United States on a student visa for roughly six months. Mamta had faced six consecutive visa rejections and, according to Inspector A M Gehlot of Langhnaj police station, the family turned to an illegal human-smuggling network after those rejections. A local agent, Alpesh Panchal, connected the family with Vadodara-based agent Bhargav Patel, who allegedly quoted INR75 lakh per person for the journey. The family paid approximately INR70 lakh up front to the handlers.
Financial Arrangements and Ransom Claim
Family patriarch Kiritbhai Chauhan, Mamta’s father, said the total outlay for each of the three individuals was around INR70 lakh. He alleged that after the trio reached Ethiopia they were held captive and that the abductors demanded INR1 crore for their release. Chauhan also claimed that INR60 lakh had already been paid to the kidnappers. Rutvik’s grandfather, Kanubhai Jansari, echoed the ransom demand of INR1 crore and the prior payment of INR60 lakh, though he provided no further details.
Official Response
Inspector A M Gehlot confirmed that a missing-persons complaint was lodged at Langhnaj police station on the day the family reported loss of contact. The police statement noted that the trio’s whereabouts could not be ascertained after September 22. Gehlot reiterated that Mamta’s husband had traveled to the United States on a student visa six months earlier and that Mamta had repeatedly attempted to secure a U.S. visa without success. No further investigative updates have been released, and authorities have not confirmed the kidnapping allegation.
Family Appeals for Government Intervention
Kanubhai Jansari made a similar plea, emphasizing the family’s financial exhaustion and the urgency of governmental assistance.
Current Status and Information Gaps
As of the latest reports, the three individuals remain untraced. Police have not located them in Ethiopia, and no independent verification of the alleged kidnapping or the identity of the ransom-demanding caller has been provided. The investigation continues, but concrete details about the trio’s location, condition, or the parties responsible for the alleged abduction remain absent.
