'Wrongly jailed' Indian-origin man in Georgia says he read the Gita in prison

Mahendra Patel , the Indian-origin man who was accused of trying to abduct a child at a Georgia store, said he read the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita inside jail. After spending 47 days Cobb County jail, he was released on $10,000 bond earlier this week, after his lawyer cited surveillance evidence that she claimed proved that there was no kidnapping attempt.

On March 18, Patel went to Walmart and met 26-year-old Caroline Miller, who later accused Patel of attempting to kidnap her son, assault and battery. She was on a motorized scooter with her two children when Patel asked her if she knew where Tylenol was. Miller showed him the direction when Patel grabbed her child. Miller later claimed there was a tug-of-war over the child. But Patel's lawyer Ashleigh Merchant said the surveillance footage showed that there was no struggle and Patel and Miller crossed the path later, when Patel gestured to her, informing her that he found the medicine. He paid for the medicine and exited the store and was arrested two days later.

Patel said he grabbed Miller's child to ensure that he did not fall, but he was arrested, and the case caused a stir in the community. “I couldn’t even dream of someone accusing me of something like this,” Patel said as he walked out of the prison. “At first, I didn’t even know why they were arresting me. I thought they had the wrong guy.”

He said one inmate asked him what he was reading and then wanted a copy of the Gita. “I told him, ‘Of course,’” Patel recalled. “We’ll send you ten if you want. It felt like a bigger, deeper message.”

On his accuser, Miller, Patel said, "It's her karma. We go on with our lives." He also didn't comment whether he thought it was a racial thing.

Patel's lawyer said Miller has a lengthy history with law enforcement, and there have been over 20 police reports in the last seven years involving Miller.