"He's not doing well. It's awful."
US Indian man Mahendra Patel has spent more than a month in jail for an alleged kidnapping.
Patel was arrested on March 21, 2025, three days after an incident at a Walmart in Georgia, United States.
Caroline Miller accused Patel of attempting to abduct her two-year-old son while she shopped.
Miller claimed Patel distracted her by asking for Tylenol and then tried to lift her son from her lap. She described the encounter as a “tug of war” before she managed to stop him.
However, surveillance footage paints a different picture.
Walmart cameras reportedly captured Patel and Miller interacting briefly but showed no evidence of a struggle. Footage from 20 different angles failed to support Miller’s claims of a confrontation.
Patel told authorities he asked Miller for help finding Tylenol, a common pain and fever relief medicine, for his sick mother.
The videos showed Patel approaching Miller and speaking to her while she was seated in a motorised cart with her children.
The footage showed no evidence of Patel grabbing or attempting to abduct the child, contradicting Miller’s allegations of a physical struggle.
Mahendra Patel was nevertheless charged with kidnapping, simple battery, and simple assault. He remains held without bond at Cobb County Adult Detention Centre.
Miller repeated her claim that Patel tried to snatch her son Jude after distracting her with the Tylenol question. She insisted a struggle occurred as she fought to hold onto her child.
Patel countered that he reached out instinctively to steady the boy, believing he might fall. Patel also reportedly mistook Miller for a disabled person due to her use of the motorised cart.
Patel’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, said he was suffering inside jail:
“He’s not doing well. It’s awful. He’s being threatened. I mean, you can imagine, he’s in here for child kidnapping.
“People in jail aren’t treated well if they’re accused of harming a child.”
It also reported that Patel and Miller crossed paths three times inside the Walmart store.
On their first interaction, Patel asked Miller for help finding Tylenol. Both Miller and Patel’s attorneys agreed on this sequence of events.
Moments later, Patel and Miller encountered each other again, which Miller alleged was when the attempted abduction took place.
However, the 20 videos reviewed showed no evidence supporting her account of a “tug of war” or any attempt to snatch the child.
Patel’s case continues to draw attention, raising questions about how quickly serious charges were filed despite conflicting evidence.
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