Indian American father arrested after infant found dead inside car

Police say Divya Patel “was aware that Ayaan had died and did not render first aid or seek emergency care.”

Rocky Hill, Connecticut, resident Divya Patel was arrested after police found him driving a car with corpse of his one-month-old child in it.

The 34-year-old Indian American was arrested by the State Police Detectives on November 18, at approximately 6.25 pm, soon after the Rocky Hill Police Department received a 911 call from the infant’s mother.

The distraught mother told the officers that her one-month old baby Ayaan Patel was not breathing and the toddler’s father, Divya Patel, was with the baby parked at the Residence Inn, located at 680 Cromwell Ave, Connecticut State Police said in a Facebook post.

Rocky Hill Police officers located the mother, who informed police that Patel took the baby and sped away in the car.

The officers then tried to contact Patel by phone, but he was uncooperative and refused to tell officers where he was.

Police found out that he was driving around in the Glastonbury and Rocky Hill area, and after approximately 30 minutes, he returned to the Residence Inn and turned unresponsive Ayaan over to police.

The child was taken to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford and pronounced dead.

“Through the course of the investigation, state police CDMC detectives found that Patel was aware that Ayaan had died and did not render first aid or seek emergency care,” the police statement said. “In addition, Patel was uncooperative and elusive when Rocky Hill officers tried to determine his location and render aid to Ayaan.”

The Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime (CDMC) detectives, who took over the investigation, charged Patel with causing “Risk of injury to a Minor” and “Tampering with Evidence.”

The arrest warrant against Patel also states that he was in the middle of a divorce with a woman different from the mother of the infant.

Patel and his family have been living in the Connecticut area for more than 15 years, where he owns a Subway restaurant in Glastonbury.

Patel and the mother of the deceased child had plans of moving to Florida, deeming the state to put him under a potential flight risk.

Patel has been held on $1 million bond. According to a Fox61 report, he appeared before the New Britain Superior Court on Monday.

The judge stated during the arraignment that the court is waiting for the autopsy report to determine the cause and manner of the baby’s death. The judge ordered Patel back to court on December 5.