58-year-old Indian man dies in custody of US Immigration officials

A 58-year-old Indian detained by American customs officials died in custody at an Atlanta hospital.

Atul Kumar Babubhai Patel was taken in custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week for not possessing necessary immigration documents. He was kept at the Atlanta City Detention Centre for two days.

Congestive heart failure leading to health complications is being seen as the preliminary cause of his demise.

Patel had landed at the Atlanta airport on May 10 from Ecuador, after which he was detained by the US Customs and Border Protection for not possessing necessary immigration documents.

After the initial medical screening, Patel was found to have high blood pressure and diabetes. On Saturday, after a nurse noticed that he had a breathing problem, he was taken to a hospital where he passed away.

The agency then informed the Indian consular representatives who have notified Patel's family.

Patel is the eighth person to have died in the custody of ICE this year. However, a statement issued by the agency says that fatalities in its custody are "exceedingly rare" and occur at a fraction of the rate of the US detained population as a whole.

(Image source InfoStormer)