A charter plane with 303 Indian passengers on board was kept grounded in France for four days over suspicions of human trafficking.&nbsp;

Among them, 276 passengers of the Airbus A340, on its way to Nicaragua, returned to India, while 25 chose to remain in France, seeking asylum. As the controversy over the alleged human trafficking angle gained prominence in both France and India, the name of a notorious human smuggler from&nbsp;south Indian city of Hyderabad has come to light.

Reports citing Indian security agencies have claimed that Shashi Kiran Reddy, the alleged kingpin of last year's tragic Dingucha case, is likely the mastermind behind the latest case of alleged human trafficking.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-plane-row-25-held-in-france-freed-mumbai-spl-igp-seeks-probe-into-trafficking-angle-674204">France plane row: 25 held in France freed; Mumbai Spl IGP seeks probe into trafficking angle</a>

<h2>Who is Shashi Kiran Reddy?</h2>

Shashi Kiran Reddy made news last year over his alleged hand in the Dingucha case, where a&nbsp;Gujarati family of four was found frozen to death in Canada near the US border.

Reddy was connected to the 'donkey' journey. However, he was let off by the Gujarat police due to a lack of evidence. Now, his name has once again cropped up in connection to the alleged 'donkey flight'.

As per reports, 96 of the passengers aboard the Nicaragua-bound Airbus A340 flight were from Gujarat.

The Times of India citing sources reported that in the last two months, Reddy has sent around 800 illegal Indian immigrants to Nicaragua, posing as tourists.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-plane-row-indian-police-forms-teams-to-bust-illegal-immigration-673925">France plane row: Indian police form teams to bust illegal immigration network</a>

"Earlier, he sent them on 50-seater flights that halted at Vatry airport. However, recently, French authorities refused to allow one such flight to halt at Vatry airport, and it returned to Dubai. So, Reddy arranged for an aircraft with 300 passengers, assuming it will be allowed to halt and refuel," reported the publication, quoting an unnamed source.

The source also told TOI that on the recent Nicaragua-bound flight, there were passengers who could not make it to Nicaragua previously. As per CNBC, in recent times, Nicaragua has emerged as a popular destination for those seeking asylum in the US.

<h2>The Dingucha case&nbsp;</h2>

In January 2022, a family of four from Dingucha village, in India's Gujarat, were found frozen to death in Canada's Manitoba. The family — a couple and their two minor children — was reportedly attempting to enter the United States illegally.

Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishali, and their children Dharmik and Vihangi, as per a Times of India report, were told to walk in -35&nbsp;°C temperature to evade arrest by the Canadian or US Security agencies.&nbsp;

"Follow the lights of an American gas station because you will find no navigation available in the dark and extreme weather," they were told.

As per TOI, it was found that the victim Jagdish's brother Mahendra, along with Reddy, had coordinated the family's illegal entry into the US with human smugglers.

"Reddy had prepared the documents of Jagdish and his family and coordinated with offshore human smugglers to help them cross the US border." Along with Reddy, three other people were arrested in the case.

(With inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

A charter plane with 303 Indian passengers on board was kept grounded in France for four days over suspicions of human trafficking. Among them, 276 passengers of the Airbus A340, on its way to Nicaragua, returned to India, while 25 chose to remain in France, seeking asylum.

A charter plane with 303 Indian passengers on board was kept grounded in France for four days over suspicions of human trafficking. Among them, 276 passengers of the Airbus A340, on its way to Nicaragua, returned to India, while 25 chose to remain in France, seeking asylum. As the controversy over the alleged human trafficking angle gained prominence in both France and India, the name of a notorious human smuggler from south Indian city of Hyderabad has come to light. Reports citing Indian security agencies have claimed that Shashi Kiran Reddy, the alleged kingpin of last year's tragic Dingucha case, is likely the mastermind behind the latest case of alleged human trafficking. Also read | France plane row: 25 held in France freed; Mumbai Spl IGP seeks probe into trafficking angle Who is Shashi Kiran Reddy? Shashi Kiran Reddy made news last year over his alleged hand in the Dingucha case, where a Gujarati family of four was found frozen to death in Canada near the US border. Reddy was connected to the 'donkey' journey. However, he was let off by the Gujarat police due to a lack of evidence. Now, his name has once again cropped up in connection to the alleged 'donkey flight'. As per reports, 96 of the passengers aboard the Nicaragua-bound Airbus A340 flight were from Gujarat. The Times of India citing sources reported that in the last two months, Reddy has sent around 800 illegal Indian immigrants to Nicaragua, posing as tourists. Also read | France plane row: Indian police form teams to bust illegal immigration network "Earlier, he sent them on 50-seater flights that halted at Vatry airport. However, recently, French authorities refused to allow one such flight to halt at Vatry airport, and it returned to Dubai. So, Reddy arranged for an aircraft with 300 passengers, assuming it will be allowed to halt and refuel," reported the publication, quoting an unnamed source. The source also told TOI that on the recent Nicaragua-bound flight, there were passengers who could not make it to Nicaragua previously. As per CNBC, in recent times, Nicaragua has emerged as a popular destination for those seeking asylum in the US. The Dingucha case In January 2022, a family of four from Dingucha village, in India's Gujarat, were found frozen to death in Canada's Manitoba. The family — a couple and their two minor children — was reportedly attempting to enter the United States illegally. Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishali, and their children Dharmik and Vihangi, as per a Times of India report, were told to walk in -35 °C temperature to evade arrest by the Canadian or US Security agencies. "Follow the lights of an American gas station because you will find no navigation available in the dark and extreme weather," they were told. As per TOI, it was found that the victim Jagdish's brother Mahendra, along with Reddy, had coordinated the family's illegal entry into the US with human smugglers. "Reddy had prepared the documents of Jagdish and his family and coordinated with offshore human smugglers to help them cross the US border." Along with Reddy, three other people were arrested in the case. (With inputs from agencies)

Who is Shashi Kiran Reddy, the alleged mastermind behind human trafficking flight?

A Nicaragua-bound flight with 303 Indians onboard was grounded in France last week over suspicion of human trafficking. The flight is expected to leave the Vatry airport and arrive in India later on Monday (Dec 25).

A Nicaragua-bound flight with 303 Indians onboard was grounded in France last week over suspicion of human trafficking. The flight is expected to leave the Vatry airport and arrive in India later on Monday (Dec 25). As France launched an investigation into the matter, news has emerged that an alleged kingpin of a human trafficking case in the Indian state of Gujarat is linked to the Nicaragua-bound Airbus A340. Citing sources in Indian security agencies, a report by The Times of India (TOI) on Monday said that Shashi Kiran Reddy, the alleged kingpin of last year's Dingucha case, let off by the Gujarat police for lack of evidence, was likely the mastermind in the grounded Nicaragua-bound flight case. The sources told TOI that of the passengers onboard the Airbus A340 at Vatry airport, 96 were from Gujarat. What is the 2022 Dingucha case? In January last year, four members of a family- Jagdish Patel (39), Vaishali Patel (37), and their two children Vihangi Patel (11) and Dharmik Patel (3) were found dead near Canada's Emerson. The Patels, who belonged to Gujarat's Dingucha village, had frozen to death while attempting to illegally cross into the United States from Canada. As per the TOI report, it was found that Jagdish's brother Mahendra had organised the journey to the US. One of the sources told the publication that Mahendra was working with Shashi Kiran Reddy and they had sent thousands of people from Gujarat to the US. Also read: 11 minors among 303 Indian passengers on flight grounded by France: Report The source added that Reddy prepared documents of Jagdish and his family, and coordinated with offshore human smugglers to help them cross the US border. Three other people were arrested in this case. A smuggling network operating for 15 years The TOI report further said that Reddy has been running a human smuggling network for the last 15 years, arranging flights from Dubai to Nicaragua. From here, people were illegally taken to the US, the sources also told the publication. In the Airbus A340 of Legend Airlines that was grounded in France last Friday, passengers of the flight were questioned for two days. Two passengers have been detained to verify whether their role "may have been different than the others in this transport, and under what conditions and with what objectives." (With inputs from agencies)

Alleged kingpin of Gujarat trafficking case linked to grounded flight with Indians aboard: Report

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Who is Shashi Kiran Reddy, the alleged mastermind behind human trafficking flight?

Alleged kingpin of Gujarat trafficking case linked to grounded flight with Indians aboard: Report