Senior Jammu and Kashmir officials, including a Deputy Commissioner and a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)-level officer, were questioned in Kashmir on Friday in a case where an imposter claiming to be a senior official of the Prime Minister Office (PMO) was provided security cover to the Line of Control (LoC), and was hosted by Deputy Commissioners in several tourist places with official protocol.
Also read: Gujarati posing as top PMO official, held in Srinagar
Official sources said Deputy Commissioner Baseer-Ul-Haq Choudhary and an SSP-rank officer of the J&K security wing, were questioned by the investigating officer on how Kiran Bhai Patel from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad had managed to pose himself as the Additional Director, Strategy and Campaigns, PMO, in the official corridors in Kashmir.
“The accused was arrested on March 3, 2023 and is in police remand up to March 17, 2023. Many relevant persons have been examined in this case. The case is at the initial stage of investigation,” officials said.
Wide network
Mr. Patel first arrived in Kashmir in October last year and was put up at the Taj Vivanta hotel, mostly booked by officials and politicians from the outside. Mr. Patel, who managed to travel four times to Kashmir in the past five months, managed to get security cover and official protocol. He was even escorted up to the Aman Setu bridge on the Line of Control, close to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), in Baramulla’s Uri area.
Mr. Patel was seen posing with the security personnel at Lal Chowk’s Ghanta Ghar and visiting tourist places like Doodhpathri and Gulmarg. Sources said many officials, even of the rank of IAS, cosy up to Mr. Patel “with the hope to manage plum postings in Kashmir”.
Mr. Patel, who has a blue tick on Twitter with just 1,657 followers, claims to have a Ph.D from the Commonwealth University, Virginia; MBA from IIM Trichy; M. Tech, Computer Science, B. E. Computer, L. D. Engineering; Thinker Strategist, Analyst and Campaign Manager.
According to the police, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) wing of the J&K Police gave information to the police “about the arrival of an impersonator in Kashmir on March 2, 2023”.
“As his replies were found suspicious, he was taken to the Police Station Nishat wherein he admitted his crime. Ten fake visiting cards and two mobiles were seized from him,” officials said.
First Information Report under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 of the IPC was registered. “There are three cases registered against the fraudster in different police stations in Gujarat’s Raopura Police Station, Baroda City, Ahmedabad City and Bayad Police Station,” officials said.
As the investigation progresses, sources said Mr. Patel’s network had expanded in Kashmir and was under scanner now. Mr. Patel had posed with many local politicians and senior officers during his stay, for pictures.
“Ten fake visiting cards and two mobiles were seized from him”OfficialJ&K Police
Published - March 18, 2023 12:14 am IST
