A Georgia father accused of attempting to abduct a toddler in Walmart has been released on bail after a judge watched bombshell footage that attorneys say exposes his female accuser as a liar. 

Mahendra Patel, 57, has languished in jail since he was arrested in March following an interaction with mother-of-two Caroline Miller, 26, in a Walmart store in Acton, Georgia.

Miller alleged that Patel attempted to kidnap her two-year-old son after he stopped to ask her where the Tylenol was, leading to what she described as a ‘tug of war’ over the child in the aisles.

However, the release of surveillance footage has led many to cast doubt over Miller’s claims, as Patel was seen merely conversing with the mother as she pointed him toward the medication.

Patel insisted that he grabbed the boy as he saw him falling off Miller’s motorized shopping cart and attempted to save him, and in court this week, Patel’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant said he ‘acted like a father’ when he reached out to stop the child from falling.

Cameras show Miller apparently unbothered by the interaction in the immediate aftermath. She was seen smiling and chatting with a man, while Patel went about his business. Her claims that Patel fled the store have also been disproven by footage showing him paying for his goods and leaving.

The father has remained in custody since he was arrested three days after his interaction with Miller, and Merchant said he spent his 57th birthday behind bars two weeks before his bond hearing.

Patel has received an outpouring of support from those who feel he was unjustly accused, and a cheer rang out from his family and supporters as he was given bail on Tuesday.

As a judge released Patel, he set a $10,000 bond and remarked on the ‘significant’ amount of media and social media attention the case has received.

Mahendra Patel, 57, was freed from custody on Tuesday after bombshell footage disputed his accuser’s claims that he tried to kidnap her child from Walmart

Patel had remained behind bars for months following his arrest

Caroline Miller, 26, claims Patel tried to snatch her two-year-old son from her lap in the aisle of their local Walmart in Acton, Georgia in March

In footage of their interaction in Walmart, Patel was seen walking up to Miller as she drove her motorized shopping cart with her son and four-year-old daughter.

It is unclear why Miller was using the cart, as she is able to walk.

After pointing him toward the Tylenol, Miller then spoke with another shopper and was seen smiling and laughing with them, moments after she alleged that she fought to save her child from a kidnapping.

The other patron also helped Miller’s children as they fell from her mobility scooter – which she mother was using despite not being disabled – just as Patel said he had done.

The footage showed no such struggle that Miller had described, and even showed Patel walking back past her and appearing to show her the Tylenol that he eventually found as he left the store.

Miller reported Patel to a Walmart employee five minutes after the alleged snatching attempt, but did not call the police until later.

In court on Tuesday, Marchant said a Walmart staffer found it strange that Miller did not scream or call for help during the alleged kidnapping attempt, and initially appeared reluctant to call police.

A prosecutor claimed that a Walmart employee told police Patel had tried to touch them and said ‘something like he loved them.’

The prosecutor added that Patel had been arrested for a DUI in the past, to which Merchant stood up and countered that while Patel was never convicted of a DUI, she alleged that Miller had been.

After it was brought up that Patel served six months in federal prison for a 2006 arrest for a ‘white collar crime’ related to a contracts scam, Merchant said he cooperated with investigators to convict another perpetrator and paid back all ill-gotten gains.

On March 18, footage showed Patel approached Miller in the Walmart in Acworth, Georgia, to ask if she knew where the Tylenol was. He briefly stopped her child from falling from a motorized scooter, but it did not show any kind of struggle that Miller described

Patel had gone to the Walmart to buy drugs for his elderly mother, and was seen calmly paying for his items and leaving after the alleged ‘kidnapping’ attempt

After encountering Patel, Miller spoke with another man in Walmart (above), where she drove into a display on a motorized scooter that she used despite not being disabled

Miller has since done a number of media spots about what she insists was an attempted kidnapping, with Patel’s loved ones questioning: ‘How many interviews can this person do?’

Patel has remained in the county jail ever since he was arrested three days later, with a family friend previously telling DailyMail.com that the father has been struggling behind bars.

They said they ‘automatically’ knew there ‘had to have been a mistake’ when they saw the news of his arrest, and said he has been maligned through no fault of his own.

‘There’s just like absolutely no way like he would ever do something like that,’ they said.

They blasted Miller, who has gone on a media tour to accuse him of child-snatching.

‘How many interviews can this person do? She is just making so many assumptions on the person he is just based on her one interaction,’ they said.

Patel was looking for a specific kind of Tylenol for his ailing 86-year-old mother.

She takes twice a day, ‘and that’s probably why he was frantically looking for it.’

They added that Patel’s wife is ‘distraught’ not speaking to anyone since her husband’s humiliating arrest.

Patel, meanwhile, is struggling behind bars.

‘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,’ attorney Ashleigh Merchant tells Daily Mail.

Miller has been accused of fabricating the kidnapping attempt as Patel’s lawyers alleged that footage vindicated the father

Patel’s lawyer pointed out that Miller has previously been involved in litigation against companies. In 2021 she filed a lawsuit against Lyft saying she had been raped by a driver. The case is ongoing

Mahendra Patel, 56, insists he’s been wrongfully accused as his loved ones say they instantly knew there was ‘some kind of mistake’ when he was arrested

Despite the video footage and his claims, the Acworth Police Department is standing by the arrest, saying the ‘video released by the attorney does not show the entire incident.’

‘It seems to have been edited… it’s not the video we have,’ the department said, but declined to share their footage with DailyMail.com.

‘I have no idea if they showed the video or not [to the grand jury]. But if you see the entire video, it’s very clear what’s happening. I mean, there’s really no mistaking it,’ Patel’s lawyer Merchant said.

When asked why Miller would make up such horrific claims against an innocent name, Patel’s lawyer pointed out that Miller has previously been involved in litigation against companies.

In 2021 she filed a lawsuit against Lyft saying she had been raped by a driver. The lawsuit is ongoing.

Meanwhile, a change.org petition is shining a light on Patel’s version of events, and people are leaving comments expressing support for the father.

One comment read: ‘I have left my kids with him many times. He is exactly opposite of what he is accused of and video evidence clearly shows that he was helping the kid who almost fell down.’

Another added: ‘This is a horrible case of discrimination. Video shows a humble man who is trying to help. Now people will hesitate to help someone who really needs help.’

A third said: ‘The video clearly shows he was not trying to “kidnap” the kid and was not “fleeing” the scene.

‘The woman and the police department need to be held accountable. This is disgusting behavior.’