NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Washington DC, October 21, 2026: What began as a journey toward a better life in America turned into a terrifying ordeal for three cousins from Gujarat, who were kidnapped and held for ransom in Ethiopia after allegedly paying lakhs of rupees to agents promising to smuggle them into the United States.
Mamta Chavda, 30, Rutvik Jansari, 23, and Mayuri Solanki, 27, were held captive in Addis Ababa, where their kidnappers allegedly demanded Rs 1 crore for their release. After days of uncertainty, frantic appeals from their families and negotiations involving Gujarat Police, all three returned safely to India on October 1, without their families having to pay the ransom.
The case has exposed the dangers of illegal migration networks that prey on Indians desperate to reach the United States, often charging enormous sums for journeys that can end in exploitation, kidnapping or death.
According to The Indian Express, Mamta, originally from Mehsana district and residing in Ahmedabad, had been trying to join her husband, Chiragkumar, who had traveled to the United States on a student visa. Her own visa applications had reportedly been rejected six times.
Determined to reach America, her family approached agents who promised to arrange an unauthorized route into the country. Her two younger cousins, Rutvik, from Vadsma village in Mehsana district, and Mayuri, from Gandhinagar, also decided to make the journey.
The agents allegedly quoted Rs 75 lakh per person, bringing the total cost for the three to a staggering Rs 2.25 crore. Police later said the family had already paid Rs 60 lakh, or Rs 20 lakh per person, to the migration network.
The cousins left Gujarat around September 20 and 21. Their journey took them through Jaipur and other transit points in the Middle East before they reached Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. From there, they were supposed to continue toward North America.
Instead, they disappeared.
Mamta last spoke to her father, Kirit Chauhan, on September 22. Soon afterward, the family was told that the three had reached Canada. But the reassuring news proved false.
The cousins were allegedly being held in an isolated house in Addis Ababa, where they were blindfolded and tied up. Rutvik was reportedly beaten, while the two women later told police they had not been physically assaulted.
Their captors allegedly forced them to tell their families that they had reached Canada, even as they remained prisoners in Ethiopia.
The family’s fears deepened when a man identifying himself as Baba Khan contacted them through WhatsApp and demanded Rs 1 crore for their release.
With no way to raise such an enormous amount, the relatives turned to Gujarat Police for help.
Inspector A.M. Gehlot and his team began negotiating with the suspected kidnapper, using a local intermediary believed to have connections with the migration network.
Police reportedly told the kidnappers that the victims belonged to a farming family that had already exhausted its resources paying the agents. The ransom demand was eventually reduced from Rs 1 crore to Rs 15 lakh, but investigators continued to insist that the family could not afford to pay.
The negotiations were tense. At one point, the suspected kidnapper reportedly became angry and disconnected the call.
Then came an unexpected breakthrough.
On September 30, the family received a video call showing all three cousins alive. They said their captors had released them near the airport and arranged tickets for their return to India.
The three boarded Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 640 and landed in Mumbai around 2 a.m. on October 1. They subsequently traveled to Gujarat, where they met police officers at Langhnaj police station in Mehsana district.
According to police, no ransom was paid to secure their release.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Ethiopian authorities had assisted in rescuing the three and that the Indian Embassy in Addis Ababa had been in contact with local officials during the ordeal.
Investigators suspect that the kidnapping was connected to the same network that had arranged the cousins’ attempted journey to America.
A Vadodara-based agent identified as Bhargav Patel emerged as a person of interest in the investigation. Police said they were trying to locate him. The identity of the man calling himself Baba Khan also remained unclear.
The investigation reportedly uncovered another troubling case involving a young man identified as Vansh, from Kadi in Mehsana district, who had allegedly been kidnapped in Ethiopia during a similar migration attempt. His family reportedly paid Rs 40 lakh to secure his release.
Information from that case helped police understand the danger facing the three cousins.
The incident is another reminder of the risks associated with the so-called dunki route, an informal term for unauthorized migration journeys that often involve multiple countries, forged documents, smugglers and dangerous border crossings.
For years, aspiring migrants from Gujarat and other parts of India have paid large sums to agents promising entry into the United States. Some sell property, borrow heavily or use family savings to finance these journeys, hoping that the opportunities awaiting them in America will eventually justify the expense.
Questions remain about the identities of the kidnappers, the role of the migration agents and whether others have been victimized by the same network.
