Indian-American man jailed in US over false Walmart kidnapping charges, files lawsuit: ‘Biggest headache of my life’

A Georgia man accused of trying to kidnap a toddler at a Walmart and spending more than six weeks in jail has filed a federal lawsuit alleging wrongful prosecution and civil rights violations.Mahendra Patel, 57, of Acworth, Georgia, was arrested in March 2025 after a shopper told police he tried to kidnap her 2-year-old son inside a Walmart Supercenter. He spent more than 40 days in the Cobb County Jail without bail, and the case was dismissed later that year.On February 9, 2026, Patel filed a lawsuit in an Atlanta court. The lawsuit names 1) the woman who accused him, Caroline Miller, 2) the Acworth Police Department, 3) the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office, and several investigators. Patel’s attorney said the charges continued despite surveillance footage showing he had done nothing wrong.Patel said the video exonerated him. In the photo, he is helping the child, who appears to be shaking, while he buys medicine. He wasn’t trying to take the boy away: “I went to buy Tylenol and got the worst headache of my life,” he told a news conference.The lawsuit seeks damages and penalties, as well as attorney fees. Patel’s lawyers say police and prosecutors ignored or suppressed evidence, gave him no good reason to charge him and violated his rights.According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Patel said he was stopped by police and arrested at gunpoint shortly after the Walmart incident. As a result of his arrest and imprisonment in 2025, he suffered lost wages, emotional distress and damage to his reputation, according to the complaint.Patel’s lawyers said the case exposed problems when police and prosecutors pressed charges even though there was evidence that Patel had done nothing wrong.