Gujarati conman posing as PMO official arrested in Srinagar

The police arrested Kiran Patel, who posed himself as an additional director in PMO, and was provided with Z-plus security cover. He has been visiting Kashmir since last year and held meetings with deputy commissioners there.

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir police arrested a man from Gujarat, who impersonated a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office and enjoyed state protocol and security cover during his Kashmir visits. The alleged conman, Kiran Patel, is a resident of Gujarat. He posed himself as an Additional Director (Strategy and Campaigns) in the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.

Acting on an intelligence alert, the police arrested him from a five-star hotel in Srinagar where he stayed during his visits. Following his arrest, a local court in Srinagar sent him to judicial custody. The Jammu and Kashmir police said Patel was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and forgery. The senior police officers reprimanded the police for providing Z plus security cover and cavalcade to him without verification.

Patel, who has a verified Twitter account, shared on Twitter and Instagram the videos and pictures of his visits to tourist places like Gulmarg and Doodhpathri in Kashmir. He also shared pictures at the famous Lal Chowk and near the LoC where he is seen guarded by the police and CRPF. Sources said that Patel has been visiting Kashmir since October 2022.

He reportedly met two deputy commissioners in Kashmir and held meetings with them. Patel was arrested on March 3 and police questioned all people, whom Patel had met. On Twitter, Patel is followed by BJP Gujarat general secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela. Patel claims to have a PhD from Commonwealth University, Virginia, an MBA from IIM Trichy, and an MTech in Computer Science.