Now Reading
Indian American Man Charged in International Parental Kidnapping Extradited to the U.S.

Indian American Man Charged in International Parental Kidnapping Extradited to the U.S.

  • Amitkumar Kanubhai Patel, 38, of Vadodara, India, formerly of Edison, New Jersey, who was arrested in the U.K., was extradited on Sept. 9.

An Indian American man, who was arrested in England and extradited to the U.S. on Sept. 9, has been charged with one count of international parental kidnapping in a federal court in Camden, New Jersey. Amitkumar Kanubhai Patel, 38, of Vadodara, India, formerly of Edison, New Jersey, is accused of obstructing the parental rights of his childā€™s mother by kidnapping the child and failing to return him to the U.S. when ordered to do so, according to a Department of Justice press release.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, the childā€™s mother, a resident of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Patel were in a relationship and resided together in New Jersey from August 2015 through July 2017. They were never married. In November 2016, they had a child.

Patel wanted to take the child to India to introduce him to Patelā€™s parents and obtain DNA testing, claiming that it was necessary for the child to claim property that Patelā€™s family owned in India. Patel attempted to obtain an Indian visa for the child when the child was approximately four months old, which was ā€œdenied because Patel did not have documentation of his custodial rights to the child,ā€ the press release said.

Patel told the childā€™s mother that to obtain an Indian visa for the child, he would need to secure sole custody of their son, which required them to go to court. Patel instructed the childā€™s mother to tell the court that they had a ā€œmutual understandingā€ regarding the custody of their child. He instructed the mother to state that she did not have a work permit, and since she was unemployed, and could not care for her child.

The international parental kidnapping count carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

On May 1, 2017, Patel went to New Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division Family Court, to obtain sole custody of the child. According to the childā€™s mother, the majority of the hearing was conducted in English with no translator. At the time of the hearing, the childā€™s mother spoke limited English. The mother answered the courtā€™s questions as she had been instructed by Patel. She was not represented by an attorney during the hearing.

On May 2, 2017, the court entered an order granting Patel sole legal custody of the minor child and allowing the mother to file for joint legal custody in the future. Upon receiving the court order, Patel obtained visas to India for himself and the child through Quick Travel Inc. Patel told the childā€™s mother the trip to India would be for two weeks. On July 26, 2017, Patel and the child traveled to India.

According to the press release, the childā€™s mother told prosecutors that she sent multiple messages to Patel requesting confirmation that the two arrived safely in India and got no response for several days. Patel eventually called her and said he would never bring the child back to the United States. 

See Also

The childā€™s mother obtained legal counsel, returned to the New Jersey Superior Court, and on Oct. 16, 2018, the court ordered Patel to immediately return the child to the United States. Records show Patel and the child have not returned to the United States since July 2017. On Oct. 2, 2020, Patel and the child flew from India to the United Kingdom, where Patel was arrested.

The international parental kidnapping count carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

(Top photo: Representative image)

What's Your Reaction?
Excited
0
Happy
1
In Love
0
Not Sure
0
Silly
0
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Ā© 2020 American Kahani LLC. All rights reserved.

The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies ofĀ American Kahani.
Scroll To Top