Reward for man’s capture in wife’s 2015 murder reaches $1 million

HANOVER, Md. (WBFF) — A reward for one of the FBI’s top fugitives who was also featured on Maryland’s Most Wanted has increased to $1 million.

Bhadreshkumar Patel, 34, is wanted for the 2015 murder of his wife Palak Patel.

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According to investigators, 21-year-old Palak was killed on April 12, 2015, while working at a Dunkin’ Donuts in the 7000 block of Arundel Mills Boulevard in Hanover, Md.

Authorities said she and her husband were working together that night when an argument erupted after Palak spoke with family members, expressing her desire to return home to India.

Following the killing, investigators said Bhadreshkumar fled back to their apartment, then took a taxi to Newark, New Jersey.

Surveillance footage captured Bhadreshkumar Patel at a Best Western Hotels & Resorts.

Investigators said the next morning he took a shuttle to the Newark Penn Station on April 13, 2015, his last known sighting.

In 2017, Bhadreshkumar was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List with an initial reward of $100,000. That amount was later increased to $250,000.

Earlier this week Jonathan Shaffer, an FBI Special Agent, and Vincent Carbonaro, a detective with the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Homicide Unit, announced the reward had increased to $1 million.

“We want to bring closure for Palak’s family, who still have been in communication with us. And they have not lost hope that one day Bhadreshkumar Patel will be arrested and brought back to Anne Arundel County to face justice for what he did,” Carbonaro said.

“I would just emphasize that with the increase in the award to $1 million that we hope that someone out there that is familiar with Bhadreshkumar Patel, knows his whereabouts, that they are motivated now to come forward with that information and that the FBI will do everything in its power to help them remain anonymous if they so desire,” Shaffer said. “That someone out there knows him, knows where he is. And that we hope that they come forward now to help us bring them to justice.”

Bhadreshkumar Patel is described by police as standing 5′ 9″, weighing approximately 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous, according to investigators.

Anyone with information concerning Bhadreshkumar Patal should take no action themselves, but should immediately call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. All information can remain anonymous, and confidentiality is guaranteed.

Individuals calling from outside of the United States should contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.