Family members of an Anand (Gujarat) resident, who died at an immigration detention centre in UK has demanded an apology from the British government. Pinakin Patel, 33, of Bhavanipura village of Anand's Petlad taluka had passed away on April 20 at Yarl's Wood Detention Centre in Bedfordshire.
Patel's family said that Pinakin along with his wife Bhavisha had gone to London for a holiday on visitor's visa in February this year. But the guards of UK's Border Agency doubting their credentials had sent the couple straight from Heathrow Airport to Yarl's Wood Detention Centre.
The couple had maintained before the police that they had planned a 10-day holiday, which included visiting relatives in UK and a trip to Scotland. But when the border guards spotted copies of Bhavisha's education qualifications, the couple was detained. Bhavisha has maintained that she had taken the copies with her as she did not know what documents to bring along. On April 20, Pinakin, suffered a cardiac arrest at the centre where he died. Bhavisha, the widow, was released only on April 24 following a hunger strike by her fellow detainees.
Pinakin's father Chimanbhai Patel has written a letter addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention and investigation from the UK government. "We have also consulted lawyers who have filed a case in UK court seeking a reply from the UK government on the illegal detention of my brother and sister-in-law," said Pinakin's brother Kalapi Patel.
"Although they had a tourist visa valid for six months and return ticket as evidence, they were illegally detained by the guards. Also, there has been no proper investigation in the death of my brother," he said. Pinakin's body was later cremated in the presence of his friends at Wembley where Bhavisha is staying. Kalapi alleged that the Indian High Commission refused to provide any assistance to his sister-in-law to get justice. Meanwhile, Anand MP Dilip Patel said he had apprised Prime Minister Modi about the issue and the latter has assured him of every possible effort to ensure justice to the victim’s family.
Meanwhile, the Home Office in Britain has launched an investigation into the incident and a staff member has been suspended. The incident has been referred to police, according to a Home Office spokesman. He added: "A complaint has also been received, which will be investigated by the Home Office's professional standards unit."
