Gujarati man on FBI\'s top 10 most wanted list; muders his 21-year-old wife

New Delhi: Since past four years the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been in hunt for Indian fugitive, Bhadresh Kumar Patel who had murdered his 21-year-old wife Palak. Patel figures in the FBI's top 10 list of most wanted fugitives and carries an award of USD 100,000, IANS reported.

Patel, who hails from Viramgam in Ahmedabad was working with his wife in the Dunkin' Donuts store in night shift. The CCTV footage received from store shows Bhadresh and Palak walking together towards the kitchen before disappearing behind the racks. Moments later, Patel reappears. He then shuts off the kitchen oven and walks out of the store, as if nothing had happened. His body language and facial impression seem to be very normal.

The multiple stab wounds was found on Palak's body, hours later in the night of April 12, 2015 by the FBI. The murder of her sent shock waves in Maryland.

Assisting the FBI in its investigation, County police detective Kally Harding said, "Patel's wife Palak was young and the scene was very brutal... She was killed in a horrible way, that's the kind of person (killer) we are dealing with", IANS reported.

After brutally beating and stabbing Palak to death, Patel left the store and returned to his nearby apartment by foot. He then picked up some personal items and hired a cab to a hotel near an airport in Newark.

The taxi driver later reported that Patel was looking normal during the ride. CCTV footage revealed that Patel later checked into a hotel in Newark and was seen at the counter paying in cash for a room. He slept over the night and left the hotel in the morning, IANS reported.

Since then the FBI sleuths and their vast network of informers are trying hard to gather clues about Patel's whereabouts. The hunt for Patel is on in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi.

Posters with different photographs of Patel have been printed in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and even in French and they have been circulated in different parts of the world where Patel could hide.

FBI's agent in Delhi is also coordinating with different state police and law enforcing agencies to keep a tab on Patel's known friends and relatives. According to a senior IPS officer of Delhi Police, all efforts would be made to trace the fugitive if leads are provided by the FBI, IANS reported.

On several occasions, Indian probe agencies have coordinated with the FBI and other foreign police organisations to nab fugitives. In 2004, Indian immigrant Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, wanted in the sensational murder of British teen Hannah Claire Foster (17), was arrested from Darjeeling on a tip-off by the British agencies.

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